OSPREY· VANGUARD 20

THE TIGER TANKS

Bryan Perrett

Colour plates by David E.Smith

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VANGUARD SER I ES

ED ITOR : .\tART I :\" W I XDROW

THE TIGER TANKS TextbyBRYAN PERRETT

Colour plates by OA YIO E. SM ITH

OS I>REY PUBLISHING LONDO:'\

Published in Ig81 by Osprey I)ublishing Ltd .\{ember company of the George Philip Group 1'2 14 Long Acre, London WC2E 91.1'

Copyright 1981 Osprq Publishing Ltd

This book is copyrighted under the Berne C'.onventiOIl. All rights reserved. Apart from any fai r dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, '956, no parl of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval sy5tcm, or transmitled ill any form or by any means, electronic, electrical, chemical, mechanical. optical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Enquiries should be addressed 10 the Publishen.

ISB:"l' 0 8504-5 3B9 5

Filmsel in Greal Britain J)rinted in Iiong Kong

Acknowledgenu~nts

The au thor wishes to express his thanks ror the assistance so kindly provided by Licut('llalll-Coloncl Bernard Couzens, RTR, and Oberslleutnant Schneider or the Bundcswchr's Panzerlruppcnschu!c in [racing the planned order or battlc or the German Heavy Tank Battalions in the Second World War.

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The M arbach .,"sin., bein,; low.,,..,d in lo th e completed hull of a Tis., r E. (Man ia Windrow)

Development History

In the two decades between the World Wars most of the world's major armies dabbled in the concept of a heavy 'b reakthrough ' tank ; the British produced the Independent, the French the Char de Rupture C, the Russians various multi-turreted designs, and the Japanese the T ype 91 ,.md 95 Heavies. Germany, officially denied tanks until Hitler's repudiation of the restrictive clauses of the Treaty of Versailles, also produced two versions in 1934 under the transparent title of ~eubaufahrzeug (:"l"bFz) or ~cw Production Vehicles, and actually used the few prototypes buil t during the short Norwegian campaign of 1940, manned by erews drawn from the 4. Panzer-Division. Their major contribution was, however, a propaganda coup achieved by Dr Goebbcls' departmelll, which slyly contrived a leak to the effect that the vehicles were a new PzKpfw V, thereby causing some alarm among the AlIit.'S who were fully conversant with PzKpfws I IV but only dimly aware of the existence of the Nbfz. (The NbFz were actually classified as PzKpfw V I and PzKpfw VII [Sturmwagen], but Gocbbels wisely chose to under-state his easc. )

The ' breakthrough ' tank belonged properly to the realm of infalllry su pport and thus had no part to play in the basic philosophy of the Panzerwaffe, which relied on concentration, speed and firepower 10 achieve its aims. ~ot ­

withstanding, the concept did have its influential protagonists. By 1937 the NbFz was patently old­fashioned and the Ilenschcl organization was asked to produce a design for a well-armoured vehicle with a weight restriction of 33 tons which could be substituted for the PzKpfw IV in close support role. (This is fully discussed in Vanguard No 18, The Pflllzerknmpfwn,lft71 IV. ) This tank, like the PzKpfw IV, was to be armed with the 75mm Lj'24 howitzer and rea ched its final form in the DW 2 (Durchbruchswagen or Breakthrough Vehicle l\ lark I I) of 1940, which had a five-man crew and was carried on a five-wheel torsion bar suspension. At this point the Heereswaffenamt, responsible for the Army's procurement, in­creased its requirements by specifyi ng a nmm 1../.18 gun, tenders for the ne\\ design , known as VK 3001 , being invited not only from Henschel but also from Porsche, l\laschincnfabrik Augs­burh-Nurnburg p .IAK), and Daimler-Benz. The

Henschel contender, the VK 3001 (H), carried on a seven-bogie interleaved suspension, was over­taken by events; the two chassis built were later converted to Panzerjager by filling a 128mm gun, and served on the Eastern Front in 1942.

The position was complicated by a concurrent project, the 36-lon VK 360., the specification for which came from Ililler himself, his remarkable insight into weapons technology not as yet having reached the heights offantasy to which his manias later gave rise. The VK 360 1 called for heavy armour, a high-velocity gun and a top speed of 24.5mph, the need arising directly from the PanzerwaIT"e's experience against the thick­skinned Fr·ench Char Bs and British i\ lalildas during the campaign in France. The decision to raise these requirements still further by the revised specification VK 450] , calli ng for the installation of a tank version of the redoubtable 88mm dua l-purpose anti-aircraft/anti-tank gun

Nearill!!: eompletiOIl. S" lIdl .. !!: a T is;er illvolv.,d :JOO,ooo tna.n

hourlland a CO.I of800,ooo Relch.!lrna r1r.s. (Ma rt i" Windrow)

while permitting an increase in weight to 45 tons, was one of the most remarkable in fighting vehicle history since it was made in May 1941, one month bifort the invasion of Russia and without foreknowledge of the qualities possessed by the Russian 1'-34.

There was, therefore, an clement of sycophancy rather than exped iency in the directive to manu­facturers that they should have their prototypes rcady to demonstrate to the Flihrer on his birth­day, 20 April 1942. By now Henschel and Porsche were the only contenders left in the race and in order to meet their deadline both decided to incorporate the beller features of their respective VK 3001 and VK 3601 designs. The trials took place at Rastenburg 011 the date specified, the Henschel machine bcing adjudged the superior. Quantity production commenced III August 1942, the tank's official designation being PzKpfw VI Tiger Aus f.H (SdKfz ]8. ), re-

named P zKpfw Tiger E in 19+4, by which title it is more genera ll y known and referred to here· after. The Porsche version formed the basis of the Elefant tank destroyer, deta ils of which can be found in Vanguard Ko 12, Sturmartillerit and

Pan..terJiigtr. The Tiger E excecded the VK 4501 weight

specification by over ten tons and was carried on an eight-bogie interleaved torsion bar suspension with a front drive sprocket. I t was powered by the Maybaeh HL230 V-['2 700hp engine which produced a top speed of 23m ph. I L<; most striking features were its 88mm L/S6 KwK 36 gun and its ar mour, the latter being [ [omm thick on the mantlct, [oomm on the vertica l front plate, and 60 80mm on the sides. Two machine-guns were mounted, onc co-axially wi th the main armament and the second in the front plate.

Layout followed the cOIl\'ent ional German paltcrn. the line of drive passing from the engine compartment at the rear through Ihe fighting­compa rtment to the gea rbox and Ihence across the front of the vehicle through an cxtremely complex final-drive mechanism to the drive sprockets. The commander was located at the

N.rrow 1 ...... " iI lrack" ......... 6ued dun"! con"' .... cc'on and _ .. re "sed un~il th .. .... It.id.. .....ched ill, ."""red UBiI . (M.rti .. Windro ... )

left/rear of the turret with the gunner im­mediately in front of him, the loader being on the right of the gun, his sca t facing towards the turret rear. In the driving compartment the driver was separated from the hull-gunner/radio operator by the gearbox. I n honour of their special station in life Tiger crews enjoyed the benefi t of sli ghtly more comfortable seals than those provided in other German tanks.

Production continued for two years, being terminated in August [944, by which lime [.350 had been built, only 26 less than had been contracted fo r, an average of 56 per month with a peak of 104 in April [9+4. Great interes t was shown in the vehiele by the Im perial J apanese Arm y. which purchased one through its Berlin agents, Showa Tsucho Kaisha Ltd , at a cost of 6"'5,000 Rciehsmarks: there is no record of its delivery. ~o soone r had the first Tiger E entered scrvice

than plans were put into effect to produce an

even better protected model with a yet more powerful main anna menlo ~1ost of the main components of the Tiger E'g armour were arranged in a vertical plane, but the T-34 had demonst rated beyond doubt that better ballistic protection was provided by any given thickness of armour if it was angled back. Again, it was considered to be of vital importance that Germany shou ld break the cycle in which the Red Army's designers were progressively intro­ducing larger ca li bre weapons than were avail­able to the PanzerwaOe, and a means of putting her ahead once and for all was available in the high.velocity 88mm KwK 43 gun, which had a calibre length of 7 I.

Once more, Henschel and Porsche were asked to submit competitive designs. Dr Ferdinand Porsche was a JMrticular favourite of Hitler's and was sufficiently confident that his VK 4502 (P) design a modified version of his earlier entry would succeed that his organization began manu. facturing turrets, which were to have been mounted at the rear of the vehicle. Unfor. tunately, a major clement in the concept was its electric transmission, requiring large qualllities of copper, which was in criticall) short suppl y in Germany as a result of the Allied blockade. and on this ground it was rejected in favour of the Henschel VI{ 4503 (H).

The Henschel candidate followed the con. ventional layout and was standardized as the PzKpfw VI Tiger Ausf.B (SdKfz (82), some­times referred to as the ' riger II , but known popularly in Germany as the Konigstiger (King Tiger) and among the Allies as the Royal Tiger. Production commenced in January 1943.

'The first Tiger B was delivered in November 1943· Production models started coming off the lines in February 1944, parallel with the Tiger E; in this month eight J'\'lodel Bs were produced as compared with approximately 95 of the ~1odcl E in the same period. By September 1944 produc­tion of the ~odd 8 was scheduled to reach a rate of approximately 100 tanks per month , increasing to '45 per month by December and continuing at this rate until August '945. 8y this date, if production had been allowed to proceed accord· ing to plan, 2,179 Tiger ~lodcl8s were scheduled to have been produced si nce January 19'~+ alone

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Tif!:"r E co ....... nd"r·. po.llio ... with 8rue1d from roof ",moved. The .u:ociliary tnn'"ue h.ndwh....! can be !Ie"" Ilt

th" c.,..tre of the p;ctu"" with the rod CODnectia~ the cupola 'clock ...,.]". to th" turret r.ck sll~ht l)' to the Idt of it, (RAC Tank Muae ..... )

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Lo.d"r'. view of the .n.aj ••• d ~DaI arm.un_ ; the canv •• tray for CIllchlnp,: ejected abeU aUln can be 1Ift! ... t bottom left, .owl the b.d. of the lo.du's ru ..... f.cia~ .ea' at II." risht . (RAC T.nk Munu.m)

and this vehicle was meant to form approximately five per cent of the total German AFV production for the first eight months of '945. I n fact, the maximum monthly output was 84 tanks in August '944, and this had tailed off by f\ larch '945 to only 25 tanks, due chieny to non-receipt of components (mai nly bulls and turrets) from the Ruhr. The lotal number of Tiger Model Bs produced was 484.'1

The delay between the production order and the first delivery arose because of the need for Henschel to liaise closely with ~AN concerning the interchangeability of components with the proposed Panther II project, in which the latter were closely involved. The rcsulu of this liaison were apparent in the ~ l odcl 8's external appearance, which suggested lineal descent from the Panther rather than the ;\ Iodel E. The already completed I'orsche turrets were uscd on the first 50 production models. following which the domcstic Henschel turret was fitted as standard: the I)orsche turrct had a rounded front which cou ld deflect a shot down through the thin roof armour of the driving compartmenl, whereas the Henschel version's nat, slightly back-sloped front avoided this danger. &th turrets took the shape of a blunled oval in plan, the rear third consisting of a bustle used primarily as convenient stowage for the heavy ammunition.

At 68.7 tons the Tiger B was the heaviest tank to ellter general service during the Second World War and this, together with its sheer size, severely inhibited its operational usc, I t was driven by the same V.12 Maybach HL230 P30 engine fitted to later models of the Panther, producing 6oo/7oohp, and was thus under­powered, although it cou ld reach a top speed of

'EJ[rr:octro from Illtdligence \olts 0If f.Jonrt~ lifTs prc:parro from caprllrro docume:nu snd rccc:i,'ro by the: Brirish School or T ank Technology ()Il 21 Jun~ I !H~; now hdd bv RAe Tank Mu~um. Bo-.inl;lQn

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23·5mph on good, hard, level going. Being longe r than the Model E, it was carried on a torsion bar suspension supporting nine bogies per side, over­lapping but not interleaved. Maximum armour thickness was .85mm on the turret front, with '50mm on the glacis and Somm on the angled hull and turret sides.

For all its size and weight the Tiger B would have pa led into insignificance beside some of the heavy tank projects which had their roots in Hit ler's increasingly disturbed brain, none of which were ever completed, although work on a prototype Eloo was staned; had it been pro­duced the vehicle would have weighed '40 tons and carried a '50mm main armament with a 75mm gun mounted co-axially. Lest this idea be considered the ultimate in phantasmagoria, it should also be mentioned that se rious discussion took place concerning a [,5oo-ton tank which was to have been powered by four V-boat engines! Only slightly less bizarre was the Ram­Tiger idea, originating in lhe street fighting at Stalingrad, which would have produced a son of mechanized baltering-ram intended to bring bui ldings down on top of their defenders.

A few Tigers "ere supplied to the l lalian Army but were quickly taken back into German service when Italy requested an armistice wi th the Allies; Spain a lso acquired several, General Franco being careful to give a calcu lated impression of sympathy with the Axis cause. Those vehicles which survived the war in running order saw limited se rvice with thc French Army and were then used as targets on French gunnery ranges.

Special purpose vehicles The Tigers were not suitable for conversion to other roles, nor was it really intended thai tbey should be. The two most notable variants, the Sturm tiger (Assauh Tiger) based on the lvlodel E and the Jagdtiger (Hunting Tiger) based on the ~1 odcl B, are discussed in Vanguard No '2 , Sturmartillrnt and Pan-ttrjagtr. However, a number of l\todcl Es were converted to the Bergepanzer (armoured recovery vehicle) role, and examples of both models were equipped as Panzer­befehlswagen (armoured command vehicles) by the ins tallation of additiona l radios.

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Details oftb .. Tig .. r E'. ""..vatin g .... ck . nd bandwbeel ; tb .. t .... v ...... ins- hand wheel can be .. 1I!ftI .t t op ['"-ft, w ith th .. c linometer and binOSCGpic .. ight . (RAC T . nIr. M .. "",UJJI) ">:tOW Driv .. r'. poII it; (M> s b o wing in8frum .... t pan .. 1 . net g: ... r ... Iector I .. v .. r. Sp.~ vi.ion b lock ......... towed .bov., t b .. m Mnu .. .,n u. (RAC Tank M .. _m)

The Tigers Described

THE TIGER E

Armour Following examination of sam ples taken from a captured model in September [943, the British consultan ts reached these conclusions: ' In all the samples so far examined the armour steel is of a Iype not hithcl"lo encounlered in the investigation of German lank armour. T he main points of interest arc as follows: '( i) T he usc of homogenolls instead of face­hardened plate for the frail tal armour, which is a logical developmcnl in thick armour designed to provide protection against large-calibre capped projectiles. '(ii) The high chromium and molybdenum content. '( iii ) Thc high carbon content, which is likel y to

give rise to welding difficulties. ' Pend ing further evidence, however, the bal­

listic propcrties of this type of German armour wou ld seem to be at least comparable with good machinable quality armour of the same thickness.

'Thcre is no protection for the turret ring other than that provided by the front platc of Ihe superstructure, the upper edge of which extends about 2il1. above the level of the superstructure roof. '

A further report, preparcd about the same time, comments that 'The introduction of plate interlocking in addition to thc normal stepped jointing is a distinct development in AFV construction.'

Of particular interest are the results of firing trials carried Out against the armour of a cap­tured Tiger E with every high.velocity anti-tank weapon then in service with the \\'estern Allies. The Amcrican 37mm gun barely succeeded in penetraling the thinner rear armour at 400 yards. The British 6pdr. penetrated the rear at 1,500

yards, but on ly got through the side armour at a

range of 500 yards willi shots angkd at 30° and more. The British and American 75mm guns were effective against the side armour at 700 yards, but the American 3in. gun fitted to the :\11 0 tank destroyer was capablc of penetrating the nank at 1,400 yards at angh."s of 50' and more, as well as the rear at '2,500 yards with go angle of impact. The best performance was provided by the British 17pdr ... which found no difficulty in penetrating hull and turret side and rear armour at I,goo yards. I n no instance was the frontal armour penetrated. 1'\0 figures are available for the gomm gun filled to the M36 tank destroyer specifically to combat the Tiger, but the results would have been comparable with the '7pdr. gun. On the Eastcrn front the Red Army's 12211lm gun, fitted to the.JS series and the SU 122, provided some improvement on this as although its muzzle velocity was lower than that of the 17pdr. (2,562 ft/scc as opposed to 2,950 ft /sec) it relied to a greater extent on the mass of its round to achieve its effect.

Automotive The early .Model Es were powered by the .:\1ay­bach HL 210 21-litre engine, but it was soon realized that this lacked the necessary power and it was replaced by the IlL 230, which had a capacity of 24 litres. The ilL 230 had an aluminium cylinder block, crank case and piston heads, although the connecting rods were made of steel. Like all German tank engines it was designed for operation in temperate climates and experience gained in the hot, dusty conditions of North Africa wilh thc .\hybach engines of thc PzKpfw III and I V led to those Tigers sent to Tunisia being fitted with the feifd air filter system, which was atlached to thc rear of the vehicle and connected with the enginc by promi­nent trunking which crossed the engine deck. The end of hostilities in Tunisia removed the necessity offitling the Feifel system.

The engine was water cooled, the total capacity of the system being 16 gallons. Two linked radiators were located onc each side of the cngine compartment and through these air was dra\vn by four fans driven by the timing gears, and expelled through grilles in the engine deck. Two pelrol tanks were fitted at each side of the engine

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compartment, the upper wedge-shaped, the lower rectangular. All four tanks werc coupled and held a total of 125 gallons. »('trol consump­tion averaged 2.75 gallons per mile across country.

Two alternative starting systems could bc employed: an electric 21-volt axial motor, operated from the driving compartment and located on the right of the enginc at its forward end, and a Bosch inertia starter similar to that fitted to the PzKpfw 11, III and IV. The latter was turned by a crank handle inserted through the tail plate and swung by one or twO men, the geared reduction between the starler flywheel and the main crankshaft being much greater than that on earlier tanks because of the obviously greater effort involved.

A hydraulically opcral<.'d prc-selcctor May­bach Olvar gearbox was cmployed, giving eight forward and four reverse gears, used in con­junction with thrce hydraulic cylinder selectors, thus providing tht .. widest possible flexibility. For the driver's guidance a metal strip was moumed on the gearbox, inscribed:

To this the User Handbook provided thc key: 'The figures within the diamonds correspond to the hydraulic cylinder of each selector. The figures on the left of the diall10nds in each case represent the number of the gear engaged with the respective selectors in the forward position. The figures on the right of the diamonds repre­sent the gear engagcd with the selectors in the rear position'. The rcv('rsc ratios were obtained by shifting the drive change lever through neutral into the real' position.

Because of the Tiger's grcat weight a simple clulch-and-brake steering mechanism was con­sidered unsuitable. Instead, a hydraulic re­generative controllcd-difft'T('ntia l steering unit was employed, similar to the l\lcrritt-Brown system installed in til(' British Churchill. the driver using his sleering wh<.·cI to impose different speeds on the sun-whel."ls of the epicyclic gearing. This system provided two turning radii in each

gear but, as already mentioned. resulted in a com pie-" final drive \\hieh abwrbed valuable­construction time and was difficult to maintain. If the power steering failed, the driver could resort to two steering levers which actC'd upon the vebicle brakes, but these were intended for emergency usc only.

The service track con~isted of 96 twin-horn manganese stecllinks 725mm wide and extended beyond the hull , producing an overall vehicle width of 12ft 3i n. This was 100 wide for rail transit , for which a narrower 520mm track had to be fitted, the serv ic(' tracks travelling on the same rail nats as their vehides. With the se rvice track the eight bogie~ consisted of 24- wheels, inter­leaved front to rear in the follo\\ing manner:

Outer front :2 2 ':I. :2

2 :2 :2 ':I.

I nner rear

However, with the tramit track the outer wheels

Hall ra-ner/radio operator's position in a Tiller E. The macbine pro has a h_d-s:-d device for etevation., sin« both huods were needed for firi.nf; the 5"- and conlroUinfl: the a .... m_n.itioo feed. Spare bell baAS are .10'_11 i_ the ~ __ &pace on lbe "lIhl. (RAe Tank M" • ..,.,",,)

from each bogie \\ ere removed, reducing the number to 16, arranged as follows:

Outer front , , , , Inner rear

The time quoted for changing a single track was 25 minutes, no doubt quite possible- on hard standing in ideal conditions, but probably the su bject of wry comment in the field. Track adjustmelll was oblainable through the cranked mounting of the rear idler wheel, the draw bolts. by means of which the adjustment was made, being internally mounted but accessible from outside by the «.'moval of a domed cover on each side of the tail plate. Originally all wheels were rubber-tyrcd, but in 1914 all-steel resilient wheels

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were introduced a nd the ou ter set were aban­doned. A poor [ea ture of the running gea r design was the low centre of lhe drive sprocket, which seve rel y curtai led the vehicle's obstacle-climbing capability.

The T iger's dimensions denied it lhe use of many bridges avai la ble to smaller tan ks; to ci rcumven t this dimculty {he veh icle could be sca led for wading submerged to a depth of 15fl. with the aid of a long breathing tube, provided the river bed was suitable.

Apart from the steeri ng a nd gear seiCClion sysl<."ms already mentioned, the driver's controls included a hand brake lever on his left and a footbrakc pedal operated with his right fOOl; an accelerator ped al; a mechanical clutch peda l wh ich was power assisted when lhe engine was running and whic h could be adjusted by means of a hand wheel to his right rear; and a starter ca rburettor behind his scat. I nstrumenlS included a tachometer marked to 3,500rpm, 3,000-3,500rpm in red, 1,300 2,5oorpm in green; a speedometer ca libra ted to Tookph; an oil pressu re ga uge scribed up to 12kg per cubic cm ; water

Tif!:"r ' I] " , m u ch p h otof!:raph ed dt"r its CIIptU", by British t roop s in T u nisia. Th" ori~ ... 1 G.,rm ..... m.arkinf!:~ indud" t h ., " "avy Tank Comp a n y symbol, a.Hn h " r ., j u st to tb ., rif!:h t of t h " Allied 1st Army !Jh.jeld a nd th e black dia bolo u,,!lis"la of23tb Tallk Brif!:ad". (RAC TIlIlk M use ..... )

temperature gauge from 40-1 '20 degrees Centi­grade; ignition s\",i tch a nd wa rning Light ; lighting switches and fusc boxes; and, on the left of the compartment, a gy roscopic direction indica tor. Drivi ng was described as a pleasure, the steering being so light tha t it could be controlled with two fingers.

Gunne r y and Optical The KwK 36 88mm L/56 gun was [7ft long, contained 32 grooves with a ri gh t-hand twist, and was fiued with a double-baffie muzzle-brake. A semi-automatic falling-bl ock breech was em­ployed , th e weapon being fired electrically from a control incorporated in th e elevating hand­wheel. The trunnions were of spherical type and recessed into the turret sides. Maxi mum elevation was + 17° and maximum depression - 6.5°, further movement in either direction being cur­tailed by stops on the rear face of the mantiet, which proj ec ted across the turre t side plates and could be removed by the extraction of four bolts. The gun was muzzle-heavy in its mounting and to compensate for this was linked to a balance­spring in a cylinder which was bolted hori­zontally to the right-ha nd upper segment of the turret ring. In normal circumstances the recoil cylinders were filled wilh Brtmsjlus$igktit Braun (brown buffer (Juid ), but in conditions of severe cold this was replaced by I3 rtmsjiu$.rigktit Arktisch (Arctic buffer fluid ). Later it became the custom to employ an equal mixture of both fluids , th e fa ct being recorded by stencilling ilraun Ark on the reco il cylinders; one SS unit is known to have sten cilled this on the gu n sleeve, ex ternall y. The gun was fitted with a recoil indica tor which showed the maximum working recoil as 580mm. In common with the PzKpfw III and IV a number ofsa rety devices were employed , operat. ing if (a ) the breech was not fully closed, (b) the gun was not fully run out and (c ) the recoil cylinders were less than fu ll. A protective sh ield

Th" .am" ... " hid" 0 " "Y"Illu a t ioo t rial. u" t h" UK, sbo w1.nf!: dda.illi o f th ., Fnrel ai r fi.]t ., r .Y""m.. (RAC T.1lk M .. ,.., .. m )

was installed ror the gunner and commander, mounted ve rti call y rrom the root: A ca nvas bag was slung beneath the breech, capa ble or holding ten spent cases.

The 20·ton turret turned o n a crowded ball· race incorpo rating 79 load·carrying balls or 40m m d iameter, alte rn a ting with 79 spacer balls o r 39mm diameter. Beca use of the we ight involved the gunner's hand traverse was heavil y gea red , requiring 720 turns to complete o ne revolution. Some assis ta nce was available rrom the commander's linked auxi lia ry traverse hand­wheel, which required 595 turn s per revolution . Turret locks we re avai lable at 11.30, 12 and 6 o'cloc k in the rorm or a spring.loaded plu nger which engaged coincident holes.

A two-speed powe r traverse sys tem was a lso avai lable, the direct ion being comrollcd by a n unco mrortabl c roc ker p la te activated by the gun ne r's root. Powe r was drawn rrom the main drive shaft by mea ns or a hydraulic cou pling wh ich could be swi tched in by a hand leve r.

The gun ner's binocu lar te lescopic sig ht was a rticu la ted and had a mag nifica tion or 2.5 and a field o r 23 . I t was calibrated from 0 - 4,000 metres for the m:tin armament :md 0 1,200 metres ror the co· axia l machine g un . The sight incorporated two tra nsparent discs, on one or which the range scales were inscribed around th e circumrere nce. This d isc was turned until the appropria te range was se t against a pointer, the action simul­taneously rai sing o r lowering th e second plate which contained, centrall y, the aiming and lay­off marks. Then, using his traverse and elevation controls, the gun ne r p laced the aiming mark against the target.

A rurther aid to good gunnery was a clinometer with an illuminated bu bb le, loca ted o n lhe gunner's right. This was gradua ted to 400 mils (22.5°) in elevation a nd to 100 mils (5 .625°) in depression, the lalter being shown in red , as well as inco rporating a metric scale rrom 0--8,000 me tres. I n contras t to this comparatively sophisti­ca ted piece or(."quipment, a rud imen tary traverse ind icator graded rrom I o'clock to 12 o'clock was located on the gunner's left , being driven by a pinion from the turret rack. :\ Io re fittingly describ<.-d as a turret or ta rget position indica to r, th is instrument was intend ed ror use in con·

Tis;e r E i .. ro .. &hly .ppH ..... DOw umou.&.."e, R .... i .. "prin" '943 ; not., lOB "I ... W .... on h .. U s id., . . .. ndiu:h.inB beam. This ; ~ probably .. tank of 'iI.{"PzAbf '50II. (Bu .. d e&archiv)

ju nction with the I o'c lock to 12 o'clock scale recorded around the inside or th e commander's cupola on a lOothed a nnular ring.

This sca le worked on th e cou nler· rotaUon princi ple . Wh en the turret was traversed a pilljon which also engaged the teeth of the turret rack drove the scale in the opposite direction but a t the sa me speed, so tha t the figure 12 remained in constan t al ignment wi th th e hull 's cemreline, looking direc tl y rorward . This enabled the com· ma nder to determine the bearing or his next target and inro rm the gu nne r accord ingly. T he gunner would then traverse on to the bearing o rde red, usi ng his traverse indicator, and wou ld find the g un approxima tely 'on' ror line.

The cupola itsclr provided the commander WiUl aU-round vision through five horizontal vision slits mcaslll'ing 7lin. by tin., a sighting strip being incorporated in the rorcmost visor. All visors were or greelH inted bullet-proor glass and were easily replaced but, oddly, no latched armoured shutters were p rovided ror their pro tection, as on earlier German tanks.

The Tiger E stowed 92 rounds or main arma· ment ammunitio n, as rollows: Horizontally in two bins, rorward at tach side, each holding 16 ro unds 64 Horizon ta ll y on floor in two bins at tach side, each holding ... rounds 16 In bin under floor 6 I n pannier a longside driver 6

As wi th mos t German AFVs the hull mach ine­g un was breech·heavy in ilS mount ing, this being partially corrected by a spring and a shaped

, 3

Two v;e-w .. ofd.~,,~ orTi!~r E 'xp' orth~ h~.vy company, SS-Div. ' 0.. R~c"', c. r ryio:l! o ut .... utin~ d~.nin! and m .... t ~ ...... c:e of .r .... ... ea t . nd o ptic:.. in Ran ia. F~bruaryl M. rch ' 943; ~ . 1 ... PI.t~ 8 •. Apart from th~ c:o ... rn.Dd~r,

IOn SS-H".pl. c:I •• rfo"rll:r (_rra .. t o ffi cer) thll: crew a r~ nOfic:nobl y you thf\ll . (ECPA)

head-piece. In all 5,230 rounds of machine-gun ammunition were carried, disposl'd around the vehicle in 34 bags each containing onc [50-rOund belt.

Three smoke grenade dischargers were fitted on each side of the turret. These were fi red electrica ll y by three buttons in boxes fitted to the turret roof on eithe r side of the commander's seat.

THE TIGER B

Armour 'The turret and hull construction has been accomplished from a minimum number of plates and a limited number of plate thicknesses. Ac tually only six plate thicknesses have been employed ( ISonllu, 150mm, lOomm, 8omm, 40mm a nd 2smm). Considerable effort seems to

, I

have been direc ted towards the usc of sloped plates, and it wou ld appear that the Germans considered a slope of20 25 to be worthw hile. In the case of the thick platcs, i.l'. 150mm and t80mm, the hardness figurc..'S arc lowl'r than any­thing previously tnl't in Gl'rman armour pracllce, whercas the pannier side plate is approximately in line with recently examined Panther armour. The mantlet design is unusual and is onc of the most interesting features of the tank. It represents a distinct departure from previous German practice and is worthy of sp(:cial considerat ion . T he immunity shou ld be ofa very high standard and particu lar attcnt ion sel'ms to havl' been given to the design in order to avoid the deflection of hits from the mant let in to the hull roof. It wou ld be difficul l lO jam th(' mantIct under attack, m her than by penetration or a t least ncar­penetration, and b('('ause or the bell-shaped protector casting such a hit would be difficu lt to obta in'. I

, b.tr:an .. d fmlll Apl)f'ndtx I" II) II·", O.ffi<t T """u,,/ I,,I,I/'I"te! .5~m"..ry \. ,61. dau-d 7 I .... brll;o.n "Ir,·

The COInmander Or'3311' a nd a n Army o ffi cer .,,.a rn;nin~ Ih., Ti!!.,r'" .,,,,b a u ,,,,,; nole placinJlj or nalional and divisiona l in" i!!"';a on rear huU pl.le, (ECPA)

Automotive The ;\Iodt'l S's automotive layollt rollowed closely that or the ,\lode! E, with numerous improv(,ments. The capacity or the engine's water coo ling system was increased to 25 gallons, the fan arrangement being ve ry similar to that or the Pamher. [75 gallons or ruel were carried, housed in seven interconnected tanks as rollows:

1 tank agains t rear wall or engine compartmem 19 gallons; 2 tanks (upper) aga inst len and

right walls or engine compartment (6-'J. gallons) ; 2 tanks (10\\ er) against len and right walls or engine compartment (17 gal lons) ; 2 tanks against fighting compartment bulkhead (75 gallons),

The common filler pipe was located in the cen tre or the engine compartmt'llt. On the road the Tiger B would consume 1,77 gallolH per mile, and across country 2,48 ga llons per mile.

In addition to the elcc\I'ic and inertia starlers, the .Model B cou ld also employ all emergency petrol starting engine (h'lIrbdwtlltll -Btn;:il/an­lossa ) , This was positioned on two bracke ts close to the rear end of the crankshan, which was engaged by dogs, Use of the electric Slarter in extreme cold was discouraged. and in these circumstances the inert ia starter was used in conjunction with a petrol injection apparatus. t>. Ii nimum engine operating temperatu re was se t at 50 Cl'migrade. maximum 95 and norma l 85 '

'The ge neral assembly of the sllspension units is similar to that employed in the Tiger E. and the

only important departure in suspension design is the use of overlapped bogie wheels, as distinct from the overlapped and interleaved system found in the Panther and the Tiger t>. todel E, It is to be assumed that interleaving has been abandoned on this veh icle by reason of the difficulties encountered in suspension maIn­tenance and further through the problem of wheel jamming in shingle and boggy cOllntry. There can be little doubt that the tyre loading. particularly with syn thetic rubber, would han' bel'!l prohibitive in a vehicle of this size and the sleel -tyred resilient wheels h.-.ve offered the best solution to the problem, Captured German documents indicate that the resilient wheel has been designed to conserve ruhber'. I

The vehitk was provided with a set or narrower tracks for transit by rail, but as the bogie units were less wide than those of the ;-.lodel E the track changing operation was simplified by not having to remove the outer wheels.

Wheel arrangement took the following patlern:

Outer front 2 2 2 2 2

2 2 2 2 Inner rea r

Gunnery and Optical The Kw K 4-3 88111111 L/ 71 gun was widely regarded as the Ix-st all-round tank gu n of the war. The barrel had a length of 20ft 7in., con­tained 32 grooves with a righthand twist and was fitted with a double-banlc muzz le-brake: the breech was of the scmi-automatic railing-block type, The problems facing designers ordered to install such a large weapon in a turret capahle of a ll-round traverse were considerable and con­cerned not only lhe installation itself but also the practicality of loading the gun with long, heavy rounds in a confined spacc. It was, for example, immcdiately obvious that not only was the piece going to be muzzle heavy, but also that its weight was going to throw the turret out of balance by bearing heavil y on its leading edge,

Fortunately the chassis \\as wide enough 10

accommodate a large turret ring, the internal diamter of which was 6ft lin, The front of the turret was then built out, leaving- a gap of 14tin.

'Ibid. On Ihl' LMll'm hont fompactcd ' flOW and icc alllO a.u~d wheet jamn""1!

, -,.

" ~;:; ~."

t,

HtD!K'hel KO";Sllis",r turret-elevation. (RAe T.nk Mus"",,,,)

between the inside of tht" turret front plate and the inside of the turret ring, so allowing the trunnions to be mounted well forward and thus giving the loader room in which to work . To compensate for this further frontal weight it

lurret bustle was added to the rear, holding 22

rounds of main armament ammuniLion and so providing an cffcClive counter-weighl. ~Iuzzle

heaviness was corrected by a venical hydro­pneumat ic cylinder installed to the right rear of the gun mounting.

The spent-case deflector shield was hinged at the breech and spring-loaded catches held it

steady in either the dropped or the firing position. Ingenious usc of it could be made by the loader who, having withdrawn a round from the turret bustle, would rcst the base on the shield which, given a sharp upward jerk, would then deliver it into the breech.

The recoil indicator showed the normal reco il distance as being 530mm ( 20~in. ) and the maximum permitted 580mm (22j-in. ). If th e crew were fecling part icula rly frivolous the deflector shield would be lowered and the recoil forces used to shoot a spent case straight out of the breech and through thc open escape hatch at the rear of thc turret bustle, thc official aldlude

'r " , ..

to such merry-making being vaguely disapprov­mg.

The gun could be elevated to + 15 and de­pressed to 8, 6.5 turns of the elevating hand­wheel giving 5 in cithcr direction. The same two­speed power traverse system was used as on the ~Iodel E. A complete 360 traverse in high ra tio "ilh an engine speed o f 2,ooorpm took 19 seconds, the f..'tStesl timc avai lable; a range of lower speeds resul ted from various other combi­nations, the slowcst bcing 77 seconds in low ratio wit h an engine speed of I,ooorpm. It required 700 turns of the gunner's traverse handwheel to complete one revolution of the turret, this being linked to an auxi lia ry hand wheel which was worked by the loader and which required a mere 680 turns there was a saying that more .Model B turret crews died of overwork than as a result of enemy action.

The gunner's sight was a monocular telescope Type TFZ gel which provid<.'d either a x 3 or a x 6 magnification, operating on the principle

already described. On some versions the number of aim-off marks on the aiming plate varied. The rangc plate was marked around its circumference in the following manner, the AI' scales being diametrically opposed to the HE :

APCBC: ° 3,000 in red, 200m intervals APCR: ° 3,000 in green, 200m intervals HE (percussion) : 0 5,000 in black, loom intervals HEAT: 0 -3,000 in yellow, loom intervals Officially, those ~lodeJ Bs fiued with Porsche turrets stowed 78 rounds or main armament ammunition, those with the Henschel turret R1-rounds. However, there seem to have been departures rrom this sca le as two Henschel versions captured by the US Army in October 1944 had provision for on ly 70 rounds each, disposed as rollows: I n \crt rront sponson beside driver, nose rorward (6) ; in left sponson, centre or fighting compart­mcnt, nose to rear (7); in rcar sponson, ccntre or fighting compartment, nose rorward (I I); in right rorward sponson beside operator, nose rorward (6); in right sponson, centre or fighting compartment, nose to rear (7 ) ; in rcar sponson, centre or fighting compartment, nose rorward ( II ) ; in turret bustle,lert, nose rorward ( II ) ; in turret bustle, right, nose rorward ( [ [) .

Much or this was extremely inconvenient and the turret bustle was obvious ly the prime source of ready-usc rounds, being replenished rrom the

I,

sponsons when time allowed. The APCBC projectilc was fired at a muzzle

velocity or 3,340ft/sec and could penetrate 'gomm armour set back at 30' al a range or2,400 yards. The figure 92 was stencilled in white or yellow on the projectile and 'S.Bcrn KwK 43 I>ak 43 43/ 1/2/3' in black on the case. The HE (percussion projectile was stencilled in black 'Ig IV RS'. A tota l or h800 rounds (32 belts) or machine-gun ammunition were a lso stowed. Some v('hicles, including ~Iodcl Es, carried Ihree 'S' mines which were thrown by dischargers, but their usc was by no means universal.

The command('r's cupola contained seven cpiscop('s, as oppos('d to vision blocks, the ror. ward cpiscop(· incorporating two venical vanes giving a line of sight parallel with the gun barrel; occasionally lhis was llsed in conjunction with a blade roresight welded to the rront or the turret roor, but the arrangemem was a personal one. The installation ofcpiscopes meam that since the commander's head was now below the cupola he had a direct view or the gunner's traverse indicator and it was therefore possible to dispense with the counter-rotating clock scale.

I

11 1 ' 1 : l I [

- ..,1 I l

J , J

Or

r

/

/ 1

, 7

The Tigers Assessed The common opmlon among Western lank experts during the Jast years of the Second \,"orld War was that 'Th( P7Kpfw VI with its heavy armour, dual-purpose armament and fighting abi lity is basica ll y an excellent lank a nd con­s titutes a considerable advance- on any tank that we have tried. I ts greatest weakness is probably the limit imposed on mobilit y 0\\ ing to its weight. width and limited range of aClion. Taking it all round, it prese n ts a very formidable fighting machine which shou ld not be unde r-rated.'

Over 30 years on, and in the light of user expe ri ence one can only add a postscript to the effect that a degree of difficulty in servicing certain aspects of the vehicle was accompanied by a high level of cnginc(' ring excellence.

Organization and Manning Guderian's intention was that each Panzer division should have its own organic Heavy Bat talion; but in fact only lhe most favoured Army and 55 Divisions ever received an allo-

Newly-arrived Till:er or 'lI/.P&Abc'502 0" Lhe Lcni"A"rad r ...... t , lI ........ er '!MJ- Pai .. ted a U over i .. ractory.fiai",h ochre, will. " m a ll black t .. r"'t .... mber., il loa" the Feud "y""em and a rull comple m e nt otS-mine diKha"l':er CUp!'. (B .... d."...rcbiv )

cation, since the supply of vehicles never approach(:d the demand for them. The theoreti­cal eSlablishm('nt of tilt· Heavy Battalions included battalion headquilrtt'rs with three tanks, and four companies c;Jeh \\ith h"o com pan y headqua rters tanks and three four-tank platoons, giving a tota l of 59 T igel"\. I n the event battalions considel'(xl Ihemselvt"S to be luck y if they possessed suffic ient vehides to form their third company.

When fonned, some Heavy Baltalions were actually ('quipped with Pz Kpfw III AlIsr.~s

until their Tigers arrivcd. The PzKpfw 111:\ mounted an 1.{2\ 75mrn howitzcr inherited from the early mode ls of the PzKpfw IV which had once t'quipped ,he Il eavy Companies of the standard Pam~er battalions, and the issue there­fore had SOllle historical justificat ion. These vehicles lingel't'd on in battal ion and company headq uaners long aftel' Tigers began ['caching their units regularl y. (5ee alw Vanguard f\os [6 and [8, TI" Pallzcrkampjwaf!,tn III and The PanZtr!..ampjwIIgm "'. )

The Army formed one Replacement and Training 1I<"<lvy Baltalion Schuwe PallZtT' Ersatz­und-. lushifdungs . lhle/lun,S: 500 spzErs-u-Ausb. Abl. 500 ' based at Paderborn. and II inde­pendcnt Hcavy Batta lions (sPzAbl. ) numbered

501 to 511. The initial allocation of Tigers to favoured divisions enabled them to form one Heavy Company. Thus, the thrcc·batlalion Panzer Regiment ' GrQssdrlltsrhlrmd' added an additional company to ils establishment ( 131PR 'GO'), the \\ hole of the regiment's third balta lion being- converted to the heavy role in Deccmbn 19+4 and rc-dcsignatcd spzAbt. 'CD' , During Operation :{}ta(/f llf the I . SS·Panzer-Oivision ' Leibstandartf . Ido!! Ihtftr' also added a 13th Company to its Panzer regiment (13/SS.PR I

' LSSAH ') and the two-battalion Panzer regiment of the then 2. SS-Panzcr-Crcnadier-Division < Vas Reich' converted its 8th Company, which was rcfern'd to as 8/s pzKp Criger) 2. 55-PGD . DaJ Rm lt '. Later the SS formed three inde­pendent Ilcavy Battalions of their own (sSS­PzAbt. ) numbered 10! to 103 (bllt sometimes referred to as 501 to 503) and these generally fought in support of the SS Panzer Corps.'

The Heavy Battalions were employed at the discretion or senio r commanders for specific lasks or to stiffen particularly imporlant sectors of front. Frequently single companies wne detailed for operations, their idemity being recorded as a prefix to their battalion number. Thus !/s pzAbt. 504- refers to the 1st Company, 50'lth Hea\ y Tank Batta lion , and 2/sSS-PzAbl. 101 to the 2nd

'Whlk 001 Sl riCl h rd('.;~n l 10 our '10 r\ il il ... ·orth rn .. ntio n illll. (h"l on(' ond('P<'nd('" I J alld liJl;('r !)atlahon .~ 12' "alo aoo formro. and 1 ... 0

Stllrmlilt;tf(-oonpan if'S' I(lUO a nd 1001 '

I

Rounded whit e turret numbers (risbt ) probably indicate .. PzAbt .,509:. whicb arrived on tbe l':a"I<'", . "ront in the autumn or '9-13, These Ti!;:ers are .1.0 fiued wilb S_rnine dl"cbar!;:e", intended ror use wbe .. tbe t.nk wa. in the ..... ult role and was deep ins ide tbe enemy position. How_ ever, . ince tbe Heavy Saualio ofj fou !;:ht derens ively for the most pare after KUr!!ik, there waS little need ror c.bue dan!;:erou"ly irnpareial weapons, and they were dl ... continue d . (Bundearchiv)

Compan) , 101 St SS Hca\-y Tank Battalion. Service in the Heavy Battalions was regarded

as being a signal honour and recruitment was by means of selection from volunteers, of wh ich Ihere was never a shortage. The battalions themselves possessed a tre mendous tSpn't dt corps and the majority chose to identify themselves by some individual symbol , whi ch was painted on their vehieles when time allowed, The coveted Knights' Cross was won by no less than 50 Tiger c rewmen, sevcn of whom werc later awa rded the supplementary Oakleaves and one , the legendary :\ Iichacl Willmann, the Swords.

I t was, perhaps, a little resented by vehicle commanders in less dramatic branches of the Panzerwafl"c that service in a Heavy Battaljon could quickl y elevate it man to the status of ' lank ace', The ace system was regarded as being unrea listic by the W('Stem Allies, who looked on each kill as be ing the resuh of teamwork by an entire crew \\ hieh would , in the nature of things, changt, whi l(' the commander a lone received the CUlllula tiv(' henefit of their combined efforts. Tht'

~: 01, .o"'m' ... ~~ ""~ , '" , •• M '~m I<h~B wid .," ".eM .. t. O~ .. " .1 o~," m~8_

Ow f,~~ o· ..• ~ .. 'h"· .'.'I.~ . • on4.,,, I OMyo'l o~f ,."" 0.,10" I.~o~ deu PO'~"'Q""O; •• ,~ .... , ","dO'" Obi,.'.'" "' ...... k~",~' •. 10'"" ,."., d.o"~.,....m." ..... n· w,o d." _"'., ,...ril" ~"d ... 0..,1,"

.ou.' ",., M" 08.".", F"n .... ~.""~ ".".' ",., " ........ d .... Sl"."~"o" 'o~.' on ... 80,d"I,,"0 ~nd "'!H,nl,,8~lolI. '0".

P"'I" ..... b.,,~Q~~.". ""hi 01.~· lo<. Z""d"~.oub.,, '0" H" .. d en, In.,,' Z,,"d"'''''vb,," dU'/I" " •• ", h",,,,,I.~."' ~.J~r',,"d ••• o~ ...... d .. ":,.n.,, Kop·,,,"d., "'eM ...... , .... "" •• " ....... ' lO<I .,"d "'."bo,. Ge"h"OI. o.,"" •• ,eMI .. ' "'0"" 0" mol S''''''O'',"cI"nt<'ubl 0 b,I(~""M"al

G."n,,'"" fl.' '" d,. H<llI.'''"OI" .llmml'" 8. ' MI" .. ",Io~ •• "' 8.,,,, l"d." fv",,,no,,,,O n"~1 b."oS."' P" .... ·0'0"" ' .3" ",.,t. .. O« .... , ... ,ft., SP"II' Pon .. '~r"nOl. 40 "'''''''''0'"' Hl·G,u",,'. _,' 0'''''' \pro"ggron",. ", Ollb' "'o"OO",unO nur m,' dim 1''''"".1 ., .. ".111"' "'Q<~ d ..... £""Qd.~ .. "odor , ~,~t ' Q~f o .... .... "og.' u~d "'"',"n ~b9.b.~·

P'"p;e S4 of ,h., Ti8erfibd handbook. oKerinp; advin: Oil Lhe .. ...,optid ..... Care and maintenance of ammu.nition. The ' ... oraJ· ., the bOHo ... m .), be I_ I), transl.led lOS: ' Whet h e .. bJooode, bl.eII, white o r P;"')" nul .. :. fass of he ... s you wowd ),our b .. ide. 'I1Ie ..... WI will be seo"'", ....... ; 0..., 1000ch of ,hi 6l1ser, . nd . h e CIOlch es fino !' (RAe Tan.Io Museum )

prOVision of hero·(jgures \\-as, however, co n­sidered to be an essential dement in maintaining German civi lian morale and the sy~tem remained in use to tIl(' end. \V hatever one's views on its wisdom, th e fact remains that the aces were extremely capable vehicle commanders.

At the more work·a·day level, the crews of T iger tanks we re presenled with a humorous aide-memoire to their respective duties, the Tigerfibtl or Tige r Primer. Written in ' Landser­deutsch' (i.e. service slang, the German soldier's name fo r himself being La ndser), the booklet cOlllainro numerous 'do's and don't..<;' for eve ry crew mcmber, easi ly.rcmcm bered rhyming mottoes, a nd cartoons amo ngst which a nubile blonde lady, frequent ly naked, urged the reader to grea ter efforts.

'oll)

The Tiger in Action

Fighting a Tiger successfu lly was a team effort to a greate r ex tent th an with any othe r vehicle, all crew membe rs being acti vely involved with the possible exception of th e radio opera tor who, beyond attending to his sets and the hull machine-gun, cou ld make only a limited contri­bution. Th is is illustrated by the following inci­dent, based on an ac tion carri ed out by I.cutnant l\l cyer of l /s PzAbl. 502 nca r Len ingrad on 17 February 1943.

A KV· I has moved into position behind a wood and the Tiger has been detailt-d to deal with it. The commander decides to leave the wood on his right and sets the vehicle in mOlion , choosing his ground carefull y: ' Driver advance! Keep to the left of tha t bank now, speed up !' The engagem(, nt will ta ke place at close range and he choost'S Ihe appropria te ammun ition : ' Load AP 40!' Obedientl y the loader selects a black- nosed round from the nearest bin , bracing himself aga inst the tank's motion. He lays the

round in the breech-trough and rams it into the chambcr with his fist; the breech closes noise­lessly.

Thc commander peers through his vision slilS. They arc almost past the wood and there it is! T he K V is at thc far corner, exchanging shots with the German anti-tank gunners; a round strikes as he watches, nying off the thick castings high into the air. 'Driver, halt!' The Tiger comcs to an abrupt standstill, ilS gun barrel d ipping as it rocks on ilS suspension. The sca le around thc cupola indicatcs the angle of the target. 'Traverse hard riglll threc o'clock!' The gunner switches in the high-speed power traverse and jams his right foot on the rocker plrltc. 'Rev up!' His warning to thc drivcr is not necessary. The latter knows what is coming and already the engine note is rising to 2,ooorpm. The power take-oH" from the drive shaft begins to hum as the heavy turret turns. 'Tank ' 400 metres!' The com­mander completcs his fire order.

The gunner watches his traverse indicator until it shows thrce o'clock, then releases the rockcr plate and grips the hand traverse a nd elevat ion con trol wheels as he peers into his binocular sight. Thc K V fills the lens, and he chooses his point of aim with care. Thc commander watches the muzzle of the gun move very slightly to the right and then drop a little as the fina l lay is made. 'All safc loaded!' The loader has complcted the safety drill. 'Fire!' 'Firing now!' With the last word the gunncr depresses the firing button.

Inside the vehicle the concussive explosion is muted to a dull roar. The gun's recoi l is sensed rather than seen. The empty case clangs oA' the deflector shield and tumbles brassily onto others in thc bag. Thc breech is open again, trickling bluc·grcy smoke into the turret.

For the gunner lhe target has bcen obscured by a cloud of snow kicked up by the blast of the wcapon, and now his vision is momentarily im­paired by a drift of super-heated air from the muzzle-brake causing distortion. The com­mander, however, has scen the Tiger connected to the K V by a slim lance of green tracer, lasting the merest fraction of a second; seen, too, the orange nash, tinged with red, that signalled a hit on the hull side, just bclo\\ the turret ring.

Action ,,~u~ce IIho~n~ Ti~er. pr.rfo nning IItandard fi r .... a nd_movem en, drill .11 ' hey a d v.nce , o wa rd" a b .. rning viUa~e. The I.,.ding v",hide h all m oved on lO . n in'e r tnedia'e ere,,,, cover ed b y , h e second la nk. (Bund ..... rchiv)

In ,hi,. n ext pict u re , he second lallk h.s aIso m oved u p to t h e cre .. t .. nd is in a good hull-down position, u .. in~ Ihe low b a nk al t h e " ide of t he d irt ro .. d . The lert klon d t .. nk i s too rar rorw .. ..! .. nd could be rever8l!d ,,,",veral yard .. ~lhn"l im pairi ng ils performan ce. (Bundesarchiv)

A hatch flies open on the K V's turret and a man tries to scramble out. Densc smoke pours through the aperture. He is almost clear when the burning ammunition explodes, throwing the turret high into the air. The shock wave washes over th(' Tiger.

Unit Deploym ent and O perations When ~Iajor Richard ~ I arker's IJspzAbt. 502 was ordered to the Leningrad sector of the Eastern Front it was a company in name only , consisting of fOllr 1\lodel Es, one PzKpfw III and

a sma ll echdon and workshops. De·training a t i>. lga, sou th eas t of the city, on 29 Augllst 19+:.1, it was commilt('d to action only hours later. Tht., next day horrified officers at OKH and OK\\' learned that l'vt.'l'y single Tigcr in the ('ompally had been knockt.'d out.

,\lthough in inyolullta ry reti l'l:,mcnt at the time, Guderian obviously heard of the affa ir short ly afte rwards and subst.'quently gave ven t to his disgust in his memoirs, 'There is an old military maxim to the eO'eet that if one devtiops a new weapon system one mus t exercise con· siderable patience so that mass production can take place and mass altacks be made \\ hen the appropriate moment comes. Hitler knew this perfectly well; nonetheless, burning \\ith enthu· siasm to tryout his huge new killers, he decided to employ them on a front of secondary im· portance, mort' specilically in a series of li mi ted

The denla, S"O"S'" and plibe1l in Ib .. Zimm",n', aDd annour of IheM: 1 .... 10.. cODfinn tbe ferocity of tbe K ...... l.eht.u:h' .. " in whieb they baye been inyotyed. Th .. f .. n.her I .. nk h .... Ihe original cupola, th .. n .. a .... r on .. the improved 'Version. (Martin Windrow)

local attacks in an area of quite unsuitable going. Il eav} avoidable losses were incurred and th e benelit of surprisc in future actions was forfeited; disappointment \\'a~ great but due to the nature of the ground the attack can hard ly haw been expected to succet.·d.>l

\luch of what Gudnian said was true, but \\ hile there was no cause for celebra tion, neither was th ere cause for deep despair. His accoul1l has given rise to the: sugg<'stion that the attack was made in an area of soft, boggy going, but photograp hic cvicknce shows dry, reasonably firm gro und a nd , of cou rse, the autumn rains were st ill some way 00'. On the other hand, the tanks had been e:ommitted a long narrow forest tracks bordered by dellse pine and lir and were unable to give each other mutual lire suppOrt. Again, the Russian anti·tank gunners facing them were battle·hardencd, had not given way to panic, knew the range to the metre and were good ;It the ir job, TIH'Y had gone first for the tracks and when the Tigers had ground to a standsti ll had '(;udrrian Eri"nn~nt'W ,,~,.\ SQldaltw,

sent round after round at the front armour. They had lIot succeeded in effecting a penetration, although photographs reveal the use of heavy ca libre ammunition, V('ry possibly 1'2'2mm. The German crews had escap('d but returned at night, blowing up Oil(' immovable vehicle to prevent iL~ secrets falling into Russian hands, but recovering three.

It has been poillled out that Hitler did 1101

regard Leningrad as i.l front of secondary importance he certainly nurtured a dcep loath­ing for the city which had spawned Bolshevism and that the Tiger offered a H.'al opportunity of breaking the Red Army's iron ring of bunkers and anti-tank guns. It was unfortunate that his enthusiasm lacked the temper provided by practical experience,

J\lleanwhile I/S02 was back in business, and was not again commitled along an unsuitable axis. Throughout the rest of the year the COIll­

pany's strength was slowly built up until on 12 January 19H it stood at four Tige~ and eight PzKpfw I II AusD.1 and :"J. On that date the Red Arm y launched a massive and carefu lly pre­pared offensive designed to break the siege of Leningrad, and the following day a distress call was received from the 96th Infantry Division to the e ffec t that it had been overrun by '24 T-34S ; the formidable 'Snow Kings' found no difficuily in operating in the prevai li ng temperature of '28 below ze ro.

The situation was cri tical , and the four Tigers under Oberleutnant Bodo von Gerdstell were sent to the infanlry's relief. During a sharp exchange of fire 12 1'-34S were blown apart and the remainder turned tail and drove for their own lines as th ey had never been driven before. Tiger Company 1/502 had had their revenge and the Snow King no longer reigned alone.

The Soviet oO"ensive lasted until 6 April and the company was in action almost daily, receiving a welcome reinforcement of three new Tigers on 5 February. When the Russians finally abandoned their eflons they had lost a total of 675 tanks, including T-'26s, T-345, KV-I s and li s, and SU-I'2'2S. Of these 163, approxjrnatciy one­quarter, were credited to 1/50'2, an incontestable proof of the Tiger's effect iveness. On I I February Ihe com pany ae('oullted for 32 or the 46 tanks

destroyed on the Leningrad front, while during the three days 19 21 March it knocked out no fewer than 40 T-34S. It was a truly remarkable achievement for SO small a unit, aided to some extent by the Ru ssians' unimaginative tendency to attack repeatedly over ground on which they had already been decisively repulsed.

Elsewhere, the deteriorating situation in North Africa had led to the despatch of :\1ajor I-Ians­Georg Lueder's sl)zAbt. 50 1 to Tunisia, the 1st Company arriving at the end of November 194'2 and the 2nd following some weeks later. The first thret' Tigers ashore joined the ad hoc balliegroup which successfully foiled the All ied attempt to se ize Tunis by coup de main, claiming their first victories over British Crusaders and American Lees during scrappy fighting around Tcbourba between 1 <lnd 3 December. These vchicles almost certainly belonged respecti vely to the 17th/'2lst Lancers and the US '2/13th Armored Regiment, but the prt'sence of Tigers went largely unrecorded by the Allied armour (though not by the infantry) probably bcc."l.use those few who had seen them were either dead or prisoners. During the course of these engagements Haupt­mann i\ikolai Baron von Nolde, the commander of I/SOI, was killed by shell splinters while cOlllrolling his vehicles from an open Kubel­wagen.

On 19Janllary 1/50 I spearheaded an attack on ,he French X IX Corps at Hamra. (Entered as Robaa in some Allied records.) At this Slage the French garrison troops were still limited to pre­war equipment and were forced to rely for lheir defence on their ramolls but now elderly 'seventy­fives '. These weapons were actually used to arm the first American tank destroyer and could produce results against the German PzKpfw Ills and I Vs, but were useless against the Tiger, their rounds nying off the fronta l armour in rapid succession (see Vanguard No 10, Allied Tank Dtslro.Jers ). I/SO I broke through , forcing the French to withdraw and leaving the field littered with 25 wrecked guns and 100 burning veh icles.

The Allies could hardly fail to be impressed by the Tiger ; after all, in size it bore thc same relationship to the diminutive Valentine as the cabin cruiser to the dingh y. On the other hand,

1. Tille r E , I /t l):tAbt.602: LeninlCrAd, winte r 1942/ 43

. ' 2 . Tige r E, I /IPzAbt.301 : Tunis ia, early 1943 '~I'L~;' ;=E~=~

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3 . Til(er E, I / ,P'Il Abt.604; Tun!.la, ~pring 1943

, l'z Abl . !'tOI

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I. Tiger E, 8/,i>ItKp, 2.SS-i>,,-C r f! n -Di ... 'ORB "-,-,,:­Ruuia, "'ebruary 11:143

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2. Tiger E turret detail, unit unknown: Ru .. ia, 11:143

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3. Tiger E, 8/sP 7. KII , 3.SS-P:t-Cren-l>iv. Wrote nkopf": Kurllk , lIummllr 1{143

I-II B

, ,

1. Tiger E, 13/,PzK Pt I.SS-pz·Gren-Div. 'Leihl!tll ndllrw Adolf Hitler'; Kurllk, lIummer 1943

2. TilCcr E, 8/11f>zKP..l2.SS.P:r..(lren-lJiv. '01l8 Re ich'; Kurllk, lIummer 11143

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I. Tiger F.,I/.SS-PzAbt.IOI: Morgny, Normandy. June 1944

2. Tij[er E. S/.I"ltAbt.Ml3: Normandy, July 1944

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I. Tiger B (Por llch e turret), 3/&P:r.Abt.6Q3: Ma iHy- Ie-Camp, ~""nce. July 1944

2. Tiger n (lIenllChel turre t), 2/I1P:r.Abt.601J,: Ruuifl, .. utumn 1944

3. Tiger H (lI e n llChel turre t), 2/.I':r.Aht.603: Budapest. ellr ly 1945

4. Tiger B (He nschel tUrret). 3/I1P\!:Abt.l~03: Hungllry, winter 1944/46

E

(fop) Tiger Ii: turret interior: loader'. polIition. (Bottom ) Gunner' . pUlition ,loon from IOllde r '. po.itio n . S .... key on p.26.

F

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In.iarni" de tail.; .ee Platd eummentary (or key.

2

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3 •

6

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Key, Plate F (top): Tiger E turret interior, looking right and forward:

, Breech of KwK 3688mm L/56 gun 2 Lead to smoke grenade dischargers 3 Loader's kit bin 4 Compressed spring counterweight cylinde r 5 Stowage position for box containing bu ll

and bipod for co-ax :\IG when dismounted. 6 Gasmask can isler 7 Stowage, :\1G belt bags and water can teens;

in all fo ur bags and two canteens cou ld be stowed here.

8 Turret escapc h,uch 9 Projecti le ejeclOr

10 IG rd s. 88mm ammunition sec text for colour code details

I I 16 rds. 88rnm ammunition 12 Loader's scat

Plate F (bottom): Turret interior looking left and forward ; note gun breech and basket cut away for clarity, indicated by red sectioning:

13 Drive shaft to traverse indica tor 14 Commander's radio sockets 15 Emergency battery for firi ng circuit 16 Gunner's radio sockets '7 Gunner's kit bin 18 Traverse ind icator 19 Hand traverse wheel 20 TZf 9b sighti ng telescope 21 Elevation clinometer 22 Loader's seat 23 Co-ax :\1G 24 Elevating handwhecl 25 Co-ax MG trigger pedal 26 Rocker plate control, power traverse 27 Tetra fire extinguisher 28 Stowage position, breech spares bin 2g Power traverse motor 30 Stowage , three wa ter cans 31 Commander's sca t 32 Gunner's seat 33 Commander's ha nd traverse wheel 34 Instruction board (for scaling turret)

Plate G (top): Tunet interior looking to left and rear Crom loader's position ; again, breech ofKwK36 is cut away for clarity:

I T urret fust' box 2 Escape hatch 3 Extractor fan housing 4 Stowage for :\11'.40 and mag. pouches S Spa re vision block SlOwagf' 6 Stowage, microphones and headsets 7 Fl are pistol ammunition stowage 8 Commander's scat; canu:en stowage behi nd . 9 Pistol port

10 Drive shaft to traverse indicator II Command er's kit bin 12 Flare pistol and holster stowage pistol

displayed here purely for clarity. 13 Commander's hand traverse wheel 14 Signal nag basket 15 Stowage , three water cans

Plate G (bottom): Driver's position :

[6 Gyroscopic d irection indicator 17 Power steering wheel 18 Spare vision block stowage Ig !nstnlment panel 20 Selector control 21 Drive change lever (direction control) 22 Electric starter 23 Emergency track steering level"! 24 Clutch, foot brake and accelerator pedals 25 Hand brake

The PzKpfw VI HASte TI'.CII N ICA I. DETAILS

Model E

Weight : Armour: Spero, Overall length : Width : l'leight :

Model B

Weight: Armour : Speed, Overall length: Width : Height :

54.1 tons tlQmm 23mph 27ft. gi n. 12ft 3in. (with st'lVice track) 9ft. 6i n.

68.7 tons t8smm 23·6mph 33ft . 8in . 12ft. 31in. (with service track) loft. I tin.

Tiger E of 1/8SS.P .. Ahl.lol p .",,,,in! through the village of Morg»y, F ..... ce. en route for tbe lnvasion Front on ' 0 Jane '944: He Plate 0 •. (Bundetoarchlv)

it was subject to breakdown spzAbt. 501 was equipped with early production Illodels still prone to teething troubles and its inhibiting dimensions and limited oper.ational rad ius be­came dearly ap pare nt following technica l exami· nation of a captured example which had had its trac ks blown off by th e 6pdrs. of 72 Ant i-Tank Regi ment RA on 31 J anuary.

T owards the end of J anu a ry 2/50 1 moved into the southern sector of tile line ncar Pon t dl! Fahs, and on [4 February 1/50 1 took part in the opera­tions against the US II Corps in the Faid­Kasserine Pass area, destroyi ng 15 Shermans, one of which was knocked out at a recorded range Of2,700 metres.

On 26 February 1/501, now a t full strength with 14 Tigers, joined II {Ilanzer-Regiment 7 in /lampfgruppt Lang, wh ich had the task of seizi ng the major road junction of Beja as part of an Axis

26

cou nter-oflcnsive . From the outset, almost every­thing went wrong. The balllcgroup's route wound through twining mountain va lleys which I(,ft lillie room for the tanks to deploy, and a stubborn British outpost at Sidi Nsir took a day's hard fighting and cost .severa l valuable tanks to subdue. During that time a strong defensive position was const ruc ted at Il unt's Gap, so that when the Panzers reached the area all the 27th they rolled onto a can-full y preparcd killing ground, severa l vehicles being lost on mines while the o thers were subjected to the combined fire of huJl-down Churchills, anti-tank guns, field and Ill('dium artille ry, and swooping Hurri-bombers. 1/50 1 lost scV('n of its Tigers through various causes, one being knocked out by a C hurchill's 6pdr. penetrating its thinner turret side armour. Two men v"e re killed and 18 wounded, including Major Leuders and most of the company's officers; the ba ttalion history subscqU(,1l11y re­fe rred to Hunt 's Gap as The Tiger Graveyard. II / PR 7 suffered even more severely and was reduced to a ha ndfu l of vehicles. t>. 1 uth of the

damage was caused by the concentrated fire of the superbl )- handled British arti llery, particu larly the medium batteries. ~ot e\-en Tigers cou ld afford to ignore shelling by 5.5 in . howitzers, which the British us<:"d r('gularly as an dfcClive counter in later campaigns. So traumatic had been the experience that in later years the survivors erec led a stone memorial on the site. The battlcgroup commander, Oberst Rudolf Lang, received the scomful sou briqul't of 'Tank Killer' , somewhat harsh ly, since he had merely followed his orders. (Sec also Vanguard No [3, The Churchill Tank. )

For th(' next few weeks both Tiger companies were employed in minor defensive operations a long the front. On '7 ). Iarch t\ t ajor August Seidens ticker of sl)zAbt. .')04- arrived in Tunisia, followed by the first six Tigers of 1/504, and assumed command of all the heavy com panies in the thea tre. The first task of the combined unit, wh ich numbered on ly a dozen tanks, was to assist [0. Panzer· Division at :\ Iaknassy in preV('ntin~

the US II Corps break ing out of the mountains

'pI ' of :JIIISS-P" Abl . u)I Inl ..... ! in F ..... ce prior 10 Ih", ' .. _!rio .. ; Ih", i.a";5ni. of ISS-P"-OZH" Korp" i" cI",arl)' vi";b) .. on Ihe f...,,,1 pl.l"'. WiUtna .. ,,' . TiS"''' tn .. st h ...... p..-..-a.ed. ""'ry .itnila ... pope ...... ee •• it ,huad","", ia,o tt.", "H.dr. . , ViUe .... Bocas"'. (Bua.d",_rchiv)

and driving across the rear of the Wadi Akari! Line, the defenders of which were coming under pressure from tIl(' British Bth Army. The Ameri· can I st Armored Division was stalled by the obstinate defcnce, losi ng 44 tanks on 24 t\larch alone. Long after the war Seidcnsticker, serving in the Bundeswt'hr, met the commander of one or the American tank battalions, who commented: ' It was you r goddam Tigers that stopped us getting to tht' sea that night' . The new com­mander of II Corps was George S. Patton J r, whose opto'rationai directi ve to his troops had been tersely encapsulated in the sen tence: 'Go take a bath!'

Reduc('d in number to eight, the Tigers fought their last African batl lcs in the :\1cdjtrda Valle) in April and :\ Iay 1945, the survivors ofsPzAbt. 501 and ' /504 surrendering o n 12 :\ lay. Tiger ' 13 1', til(' last in running orde r, was examined

with gn-'at interest by Hi\.t King George VI before being sh ipped to England for evaluation.

Taken logether, the lessons of Leningrad and Tunisia confirmed that even though the Tiger had been designed as a breakthrough lank , il produced its best results when fight ing defen. sively. Naturally, most of its subsequent battles were fought on the Eastern Front , where the sheer scale and longevity of operations permits mention of only the briefest details.

On the Leningrad sector spzAbt. 502 a{lained thrce·eompany sta tus in the spring of 19+3, remaining in the area until the Russians finally broke the siege, and then serving with Army Group North until the latter was dismembered during the Red Army's 1944 series of offensives. The battalion fought at Riga , Memel, Konigs· berg and in East Prussia, where its career ended on 9 ~tay 1945. It has been calculated that this longest-serv ing battalion destroyed not less than 1,400 tanks, 2,000 anti·tank guns and as man y artillery weapons during its years of almost COlllinuous involvement.

During the Stalingrad dcbftcle spzAbt. 503 had assisted in holding open a corridor at ROSIOv through which the German troops in the Caucasus retreated from the trap into which they had driven. At Kursk the Army Group South wing of the German attack was given the greatest concentration of Tigers yet seen, including not only sl)zAbt. 503's three fully equipped com· panic...'S (45). but also the Heavy Companies of the favoured divisions 'Grossdeu{schiand' (14), I. SS· Panzer ' /~ibSlandarle' (13), 2. SS·Panzer-Grena­dier ' Das Reich' ( '4), and 3. SS·Panzer·Grenadier 'Tottnkopf' ( 15), a grand total of 101 Model Es. The story of Operation .(itndl'lil' is too well known to require repetition in detail here, but it is worth mentioning that at the climactic tank battle of Prokhorovka the Russian counter to the Tiger's obviously superior firepower was to close the range as quickly as possible and, on occasion , to ram. Further details will be found in Vanguard Nos: 12, StuNnarfillerie and Pan~erjiiger .

'4. Tlte T-34 Tank, 16, The Pa1/~erAampfwngtn III and 18, The Pnn~erkampfwllgt1l IV.

After Kursk, Army Group South was pushed steadily west until by the end of 1943 it had been forced across the Dniepr. In January '944

Supo:rb ponrail or '-Z,T. a lale-produccion Tiser E or -z/sSs.. PzAbt.,o" polled ;a the aununer woodlaadlf or Norma ..... y: a photO(l:raph which sivelf a Sood idea ollhe "h.,.,r ... taacing bulk orlhe bea..-I. To ....... yAllied laalr me-a La NOO'Tnandythe­Tille"'" rearrul reputalioa m.ade il " 'bas..,."'''''' {Bu..des. .rrhi,,\

spzAbt. 503, st ill in possession of 34 Tigers, was joined by a 46-strong Panther battalion to form a Heavy Tank Regiment which would operate under the command of 1st Panzer Army. Named Pall~er-Rt'gim(1lt Bake after its commander, Oberstleutnant Dr Franz Bake, the regiment also included a self-propelled artillery battalion and an engineer bridging battalion.

l\luch of the fighting took the form of Kessel· schlacllten (literally, cauldron battles) in which Biike's regiment either fought its way to the relief of pockets of German troops trapped by Hitler's insane stand·faSI orders, or was compelled to fight its own way Ollt of trouble. These aClions were never less than desperate and at the Balabonowka Pocket 267 Russian tanks were destroyed in five days and nights of fighting ; the German loss was not believed at first and had to be ca refully verified it amounted to one Tiger and four Panthers.

During the spring of 1944 sPzAbt. 503 was withdrawn and re.equipped with Model Bs. After serving in France the battalion returned to the Eastern Front in October, fighting in Hungary until the general collapse.

At Kursk spzAbt. 505, with two companies, had fought under Army Group Centre on the northern wing of the German attack. To main­tain a balance of heavy breakthrough vehicles the northern wing was also supported by J agdpanzer­Regiment 656, which contained two battalions of Porsche Elefants (653 and 654). After .(iladtllt 505 remained with Army Group Centre until the latter was virtually destroyed during the Red Arm y's summer offensive Bagration. The bauaHon was then refitted and served with ~lodcl Bs in East Prussia .

Schwere l)anzer.Abteilung 506 came into the line under Army Group South in September 194.3, subsequently taking part in various ca uldl'on battles neal' Lemberg and Tarnopol. In April 1944 it disabled the first .1S·11 so far en· countered, the vehicle being despatched to the Kummersdorf proving grounds for evaluation.

The battalion was withdr:l\\ n for re-equipment in August 19'H and did 1I0t return to the Eastem FrOllt.

Also serving on the Tarnopol sec tor was spzAbt. 507, which arrivt-d in ~ I arch 1944, and was transferred to tht· crumbling northern from in ~ovember. It ren'ivC'd ilS last re placemem ve hicles 15 ~lo(h' l Bs in ~ I arch 1945 and during the following month "'as fought to des truct ion.

Schwere I)anzer-Ableilung S09 arrived on the Army Group South from in ~ovcmbcr 19+3, being involved in numerous actions designed to stabilize the front around Proskurov. The bat­talion then replaced spzAbt. 503 in Panzer­Rfgimfnt BiiAt and fought at the notorious Kamenets-Podolsk pocket. In Septembcr [9+4

sSS_PzAbt.IOlZ'a approach march to Nonn .... dy wa" made il) Ibe face of 101a1 AU;~ air "upe';Only, hruce the liberal U$f! of folias:e (or camouO"l!:e. The e,,, .... fuel dru.m.,. On tbe el)!>I)e dKk" are a reonil)d"'r of the Til!:er' . s:rl!f:dy COIl5u.m.p­rio ... (Ma.nm Windrow)

spzAbt. joq returned to Germany for re­equipment with J\ lodel Bs and arrived back on the Eastern Front in January 1945- fighting in Hungary. The survi\'ors surrendc'T{'d to the American Army near Linz, Austria.

A battalion \\ hich had a comparat ively short act ive hisl01)' was sPu \bt. 510, which fought on the northern front and in Courland from August 1944, blowing up its last Tigers on 8 ~lay [9+5.

Schwere Panzer-Ableilung .50 [ returned to the line in December 19-13. having been re-formed from a nucleus of 150 men from the original battalion who had not been involved in the Tunisia n debftclc. The batlalion served on the Vitebsk sector, where it was involved in heavy fighting during the Russian summer offensive, and was re~equipped with ~1odel Bs inJuly 1944. For the remainder of the year it fought in southern Poland at Sandomierz, Radom and Kielce . On 2 [ December sPzAbt. 501 became an integral part of Genera l Walther Nehring's XXIV Panzer Korps, changing its title to Korps-

Tiger·Abt. 424; its role was summed up by its more unofficial title of A·orps·Ftutrwthr, or Corps Fire Brigade. The balta lion was destroyed during the Red Army's 19H i'\ew Year offensive; until overwhelmed it formed the defensive heart of a wandtrndtr A·tsstl or ' moving pocket' in the manner of the Old Cuard at Waterloo.

The three SS Heavy Battalions a ll finished their days on the Eastern Front. Schwere SS­Panzer·Abteilung 101 went straight from the Ardennes to Hungary, where it arrived too late to affect the outcome. On the other hand, sSS­PzAbt. 102 made a formidable contribution to 9th Army's d('fence of the vital Kustrin sector, inflicting grievous loss on Zhukov's 1St Belo­russian Front as it strove throughout April 1945 to storm the Scelow Il eights. the last natural feature betwecn the Red Army and Berlin. Schwcrc SS. l'anzer.Abtei lung 103's career as an armoured unit came to an end in Danzig the previous month, although rJ'!i1ny ofils men fought on as infantry. Something of the ferocity of these last battles can be gauged by the fact that be­tween 2 February and 18 ~ I arch one Tiger alon(' (that of Untcrsturmfuhrer Karl Brommann of 2/ 103) destroyed 66 tanks. 4-J. guns and 16 10rrit"S.

Th., fj, rst KO"'~8e i8o=r compa .. y to ...... active ~rvi« On Fra .. ce waa . /aP ilAbc.!jOJ, a-=en b ., r o= era lnirlfi; ahortly bd'o~ O-Oay; tbey cam e m eo tbo= line .. aae o r Ca.,... (Bund..,... rchiv)

It will be recalled that 1/5°4 had been lost in Tunisia; '1 / jOh however, fought throughou t the short campaign in Sicily and succeeded in evacuating its surviving vehicles across the Straits of ~tcssina. Schwere Panzcr-Abteilung 504 re­fitted in Holland and after a shon spell on the Eastern Front was posted to Italy in J une '944, going into ac tion against the 5th Army ncar Massa tvlaritlima. The Italian landscape was particularly suitable for the type of defensive warfare in which the Tiger's capacity ror long shooting could be used to its best advantage. On '22 J unc at Parolla a single platoon commanded by Oberfahnrieh Oskar Roh rig, a young cadet officer, destroyed II out of 23 Shermans leading an American attack; the German account claims the capture of the remaining 12 after they had been abandoned by their crews.' It is easy enough

' fahnri r h _ F.ns ill;n ~ Olx-rfahnrich _ &nior Em,!!:n I nt~.".,..ro lxot .... ttn eh~ ' •• alTant and commiss ioned offic~,." Ih~ ranks had no Ilr<xi~ cquiuknt ;n tm- Briti~h and Am~rican Armio. Rohrig ",as awardrd th .. Knl lI; ht', Cross.

3'

to deplore such conduct un less one has been in a similar position oneself. British crews have also unashamedly evacuated their vehicles j ust in time to witness their destruction by Tigers which remained impenetrable even at short ra nge. ' Like shooting ducks on a pond ', was the Tiger crews' verd ict on the Shermans.

In the autumn sllzAbt. 504 crossed the Apennines to assist in the defence of the Gothic Line near Rimini . Here its strength was steadil y eroded by the combined effects of na val gunfire, medium art illery and the methodical British infalllrY/tank drill. The battalion remained in action against the British 8th Arm y until the German forces in Italy su rrendered on 3 :\1ay [945·

Schwere Panzer-Abteilung 508 was formed in August 1943 and was for a while associated with trials of [he Goliath self-propelled bombs, which proved to be such a dismal failure at Anzio . Although 3/508 was also present at An zio from February to Yfay 1944, it is not clear from the records available whether it was involved in these aborti ve a tt empts; th e impression give n is that it fought as a conventional Tiger company, inflict­ing loss but suffering seve rely from the effects of naval gu nfire. Nor is much known of the bat­ta lion's actions during the withdrawa l to northern Italy, although in Janua ry 19+5 it ha nded over its remaining veh icles to sPzAbl. 504 and returned to Germany.

In France the first Tigers to meet the Allies belonged to sSS- P:tAbt. 101, the Corps Tiger Banalion of I SS Pa nze r Kor ps. On 13 June the British 7th Armoured Di vision was engaged in a wide right hook which, if successful , would not only lever the defende rs of Caen out of their positions but would also isolate the Panz.er LdlT Division. Shortly after dawn the leading British brigade, 22nd Armoured , approached Villers· Socage and its advance guard - 'A' &luadron, 4th County of London Yeomanry, and ' A' Company, 151 Bn . The Rifle Brigade passed through the village and halted at the roadside beyond . The tanks, carriers and half-tracks were then closed up nose-to-Iail 10 allow sufficient room for the rel ief point units to pass.

The rood climbed to th e summit of Hill 213, where the whole course of events was wa tched by

3'

the commander of 2/101. Obcrstu rmruhrer Michael Wittmann. Aged 30, Wittmann was a lread y credited wi th th e des tru ction of 119 Russian tanks; he had been awarded the Knights' Cross on 14 J anuary 1944 , ga ining the Oak­IC:lves onl y 16 days later, both wh ile serving with 13/SS-PR ' I..sSAH '. On the morning of 13 June his ~o 2 Company muste red on ly six Tigers, of which onl y fou r were in a fit sta te to fight , the battalion havi ng JUSt complcted a difficult road march from Beauvais. Nea rby was No [ Com­pany, also reduced to a handfu l ofvehiclcs.

Willmann realized tha t the British had halted in such a manner as to trap themselves if allacked , since the narrow road left no room for turnin g. His Tiger lurched out of its position and onto a track runnin g parallel with the road , the first round smashing into a half-track with such force that it was thrown , blazing, across the highway. The grea t machine lumbered the length of th e colu mn, its gun belching flame and each round claiming another victim. Then Willmann directed his drive r onto the road itself and into the village. A Cromwell fired at point-blank range, without result , and then erupted in flames and smoke as the SS's I'e turn round tore through it. The Tige r rolled on, devouring everything in its path , including the Yeomanry's RHQ T roop and severa l OP Shermans. Another Cromwell reversed into a side road, hoping to send a shot into the German 's thinner rear armour, but Willmann was expec ting something of the kind and had his turret traversed ready to blow his opponent apart. He th en turned orr the main street and re turned to Hill 213 across country. Virtuall y a lone, he had stopped 7th Armoured Division in its tr<l cks: from start to finish the action had taken a mere five minutes.

Less well known is the immedia te sequel. During the afternoon 2/ 10 1 and elements of' 2. Panzer-Division ent ered Villers-Bocage, to be savagel y assailed on all sides. 'A troop of Crom­well tan ks of the C LY, commanded by Lieu­tenant Conon. edged its way towards the centre of the town. Turning into the ma in street the crew of the leading tank, commanded by Corpora l Horne, saw a Pz Kpfw IV 20 yards away, while behind were two alert Tiger tanks, the foremost of which started to swing its gun to

engage them. Trooper \Vood, the gunner, quickly shot up the PzKpfw I V, which bu~t into flames, and the driver, Trooper Grimshaw, reversed the tank into a side street with commendable celerity.

'The German tank men dismounted to peep round the wall at the British tank, and a game of hide-and-seck began. Armour-piercing shells were fired at our tank through the intermediate buildings. The crew noted the words "Justice el

Paix" on a baltered building with mixed feelings. 'Arter a time the Huns seemed to consider that

our tank had been knocked out, and one of the Tige~ started up. As the hull appeared at the end of the street, Trooper Wood fired one shot which put the tank out of control and it crashed into a building. One Tiger tank remained \0 be dealt with.

'I n the meantime the troop commander, Lieutenant Colton, had entered a house over­looking the Tiger. Seeing that the tank was shut down and that there was no sign of activity, he assumed thal lhe crew had bailed out. Hc collected some petrol, poured it over the tank, and was about to set it alight when, to his surprise, the tank moved 01T. Once again, Corporal Horne was on the alert and dealt with it in the same way as it crossed the end of his street.

'By this lime fierce battles were going on all over the town and men of Ihe Queen's Royal Regiment had arrived to play their part with 6pdr. anti-tank guns. About five o'clock in the afternoon it was realized that the opposition was too strong and a withdrawal was made to a high feature west of the bauered tOWIl. 1J

The day's fighting cost 7th Armoured Division '25 tanks, 14 half-tracks and '4 carriers, the majority lost during the morning. The afternoon allack saw three Tigc~ written 01T, a further three immobilized (including Wittmann's) and several or '2nd Panzer's tanks knocked out. Willmann was awarded the Swords to his Knights' Cross on the recommendation of General Bayerlein of the Po".t." LLhr, and was immediately promoted. lIe declined an appoint­ment to an officers' tactical school, and was killed on 8 August in a bailie with a troop of

'Club ROUl~ 30 Corp! in t:uropc, Hanno~er, '946.

Kauptrnann Walcer Scherff or sP~Abt.503 wu awarded the Rittf!rkre''''' 0" ~3 Febno.ary ."'''' while ... rvinS in Rus .. "'. DuriDfl the Nornoandy amp";p he co .... nanded the banalion'" ,.Kompanie, which was wiped oul on ,_ "ep ..... ,e _cuion .. : "", P .... ,e 1>2. (ECPA)

British Shermans at least partly equipped with 17pdr. FireOies.

Arriving in :'ol'ormandy in early july, sSS­PzAbl. 10'2 (the II SS Korps Tiger battalion ) went into action immediately on the vital Odon sector. On lojuly at !\Ialtot 1/ 10'2 destroyed 12 oul of 14 Churchills belonging to 9th Royal Tank Regiment, but elsewhere Hill 11'2, the linchpin of the German defence, fell to a determined British attack. It wassSS-pzAbt. 102 which led II SS Korps' panzer-grenadie~ in a series of night attacks which succeeded in recapturing half of the hill, which became the most bitterly con­tested feature in ~ormandy. The Germans held their ground with Tige~, the British with massed artillery fire; so bad was the latter that Tiger crewmen on standby were often unable to dis­mount for the most urgent personal reasons, nature's calls being answered with the aid of an empty shell case. The battalion left the Odon valley at the end of july, moving west to the American sector and the eventual shambles of the Falaise pocket. During the campaign III

33

~ ---

318P~Ahl'50J 'ahoolin« in' ,he;r n.,w Konisstis.,r!!l;note ,he b .,avy muul., hi."" of ,b., '88. T h., two ,anks on Ib., rigbt b.y., ,b.,ir I "n", lodot:d in ., I.,yalion while p nn.,ry in. structor", di"'<:UlIa ,b., rH"I'a of ,brir s booling wi,b Ih ., cr.,w •. (B .... de"'.n;b;y)

~ormandy it destroyed 227 tanks and 28 anti· tank guns.

Schwere Panzer.Abteilung 503 came into the line cast of Caen on 11 July. At first only No 1

Company was fully equipp('d with ~lodel Bs, but as refitting continued the issu(' became general. On 18 July ~o 3 Company was cauglll in the bomb carpet which opcn<."<l Operation 'Good­wood' and was all but destroyed, although later in the day Nos I and 2 Companies arrived in time to repulse the British attack on Bollrgellbus Ridge . 3/503 re-equipped at :\Iailly-k-Camp but did not return to Normandy. losing its last Tigers in a vain attempt to hold the line of the Seine at Amiens. In September the battalion was re­equipped yet again before leaving for the Eastern Front.

Thanks to Il iller's no·withdrawal order, which kept them within range of the Allied naval guns, the effects of massed artilkry quite unlike any­thing experienced in the East and the incessant activities of ground-attack aircraft, all the Tiger battalions which fought in Normandy were slowly battered to destruction, although many of their personnel managed to escape-.

As previously mentioned, spzAbt. 506 left the I:::astern Front for refitting in AlI~ust l()H. The battalion's first actions in the \rest w('rc a direct response to lhe Allied airborne opera lions at Arnhem and Nijmegen, and it was then employed against the Americans a t Geilenkirchen and Aachen, becoming a rour-company battalion by

31

absorbing the independent Heavy Tank Com. pany ' Ilummel ' in December. (l\ number of independent Heavy Companies \\ere planned for the local 'Fire 8ri~ade' role, but of these on ly sPzKp ' Hummd', named after its first com­mander, was given substance.)

Tog-Nher \ .. ith sSS· I>z.\bt. 101. sPz. \bl. 506 took part in til(' ArdelllH'S onCnsi\'l'. That Tigers were emplo~t'd <It all confirmed Germany's acutc shortage of tanks. since they wert' quitc un­suitable for the lyP{' of fast-mo\-'in.~, dt't'p­penetration operation that was planned. In the film Batllt oJIIi, /311(~t tlie cinematic equivalent of ObcrsturmbannfLilirer J oachim Peipn ('xpn'ssed delight at the prospect of his ballkgroup being led by Konigstigers. In reality l\'iper spoke out against the whole COllet'pt of the Heavy Bat­lalions. suggesting instt'ad that t'aeh Panzer division should haw iL~ own Tiger company which would provide a firm base around which the lighter tanks could l'xl'fc ise their more n('xible tactics. Again, h(' was too experienced an officer to permit his lint' of advance along the narrow. tortuous .\ rdenn ('S roads to be blocked by broken-do\\ n Tigers. For the most part, tht' Ileav), Battalions trundled along behind the more mobile l>zKpf\\ IVs and Panthers, burnin~ huge quanlili('S of pctrol that could have becn put to good use elsewherc.

The end was ine,-iwble ('\-'('1\ before the failure of this last grea t Gt'rman ofJ'emive. During the rcw remaining months of the war sPzAbt. 506 was swallowed in th(' Ruhr pocket. The last TigTrs to sern' 011 the \Vestrrn Front were mann('d by crews rrom sPzAbl. 508, the in· complete sPzAbl. jll, and the personnel of {r<lining ('Stabli .. hll1{'nLs.

Hitler ol1ce commented that each Tig('r bat­talion was worth a Panzer division to him, although Ihe form('r could never perform the duties of the latt('r, nor was it evcr intended that tiH'Y should. The influence or tht' I kavy Bat· tali ons was purdy local; they won th ei r battles but they never altered the course of a campaign. For all thai, the Tiger in both its lorms remains all(' of the world's mmt It'genda r} weapon syst{'ms.

• • • • ..

Further views of the •• me K" ..... Thc:H lank" kay" the Ponch" turrH, which identifie-s them •• amons tbe IiniI ,.. KOrU!l:5t;sen to be built. (Buntlnaremy)

The Plates

AI: Tigtr E, l/sPvlhl. 502; Leningrad front,

winl" '.942/43 This whick is finished in standard Panzer grey with roughly applied whitewash snow camou­nage, and the tank number < 123' in yellow on the turret sides. 502's insignia was a mammoth (detail inset) and this may have been painted on the frOIll plate close to the driver's visor; certainly this area has been Jcrt grty dtlibcratcly, and our source photograph shows while markings which give a strong impr{"SSion of the insignia. i\ rubber lyre from a roadwiwc\ is stowed on tlw hull side. Slightly laler photographs of 502 show Lculnant \ky<-'r's Tiger with an a ll .white turret and upper hull but grey roadwh('ds and lower hull, the overall (·n(·ct being extreme!) smart; no turret numb('r was carried by :\!eyer's vehicle.

:-...... -

A2: Tig" E, r{sP<;Abl. 501; Tunisia, tariy 1943 This detail was taken from a limited-vicw photo­graph contained in the contemporary British intelligence file on the Tiger. The vehicle is light sand yello\\ and the white turret number '7' is probably the only Olle carried. The placing of the baualion's sta lking tiger insignia is most unusual, as is thaI of the name Xorbti. I nset is a detail vi('w ofsPzAbl. 50 1 '~ in<;ignia.

35

A3: Tiger E, l /s PzAhl. 504; Tunisia, spring '943 The overall olive green finish of this vehicle confirms its late arrival in Africa and therefore indicates a lank belonging to 504 rather than 50 1, whos(' vehicles W('fe the more common sa nd yellow. The turret is marked 142 in red trimmed with white. The vehicle is fitted with the Feifcl air filler system.

BI: T iga E, 8/sPzKp ( T iger), 2. SS-Pan<.tr­Cwwdi" Division' Dar Reich'; Russia, Februa~"1 .11 arch 1943

' Oa5 Reich's' T iger company was formed in December 1942 and first wt'nt into action in Februa ry 19+3. The photograph on which our painting is based was probabl y taken nca r Bclgorod, and the all-whil(' colour scheme and runic divi sional sign (d C'lail in st"t) have enabled us to dale it fairly accu rately. The vehicl e number '332' is painted in black on the turret sides: in Tiger battalions tIl(' normal numbering sequence company/troop/ tank seems to have

On .. of AIK .. n .... ,; 503'- Ki",; Ti,; ...... _b ... doned by. Fre:o.da road!l.id ... Th ...... jor di ... d __ tase oftbe PorKh .. turret _s tb .. rouaded fro .. t, which could d"Oect sbon do_ ...... rd thro",;h tb .. roof of tbe drivi,,! companm .... t. (RAe T ..... MuftUm)

been rather less than uni versal. The fitting of S-mine dischargcrs, as shown, was never very popular; the weapon was too indiscriminate in its effect, and not su fficiently 'soldier-proor to prevent accidents.

82: Tiger E, lurrd delail, unil unknown; Russia,

1943 The vehicl e was finished in factory yellow ochre and light.ly spra yed with brown camouflage pain!. On the turret side is the ve hicl e number '334' in red outlined in whit(· and in rront of t.llis is an unusual placing of a large na tional cross; both num ber and cross a rc repeated on the rear bin.

83: Tiga E, 8/sP<. Kp (Tiger), 3. SS-Pall<.er­Grenadier Division ' TOltllkopf'; Kursk, summer 1943

German tank crews were issued with tins of green and brown camouflage paste which could be diluted and applied to their vehicles as th e situation demanded. In this case a continuous brown wavy line has been painted over the ochre finish. The turret number ' II I', in black outlined in white, is repeated on the rea r bin . Not all of

Kompanic 8's Tigers carried the division 's black threc-bar sign, but we have traced olle cxample in whic h the insignia has been painted on the frOll t plate, close to the hull machinc-gun (detail inset). Ingenious usc has been made of a torn side skirt to stow a jerrican.

CI: Tiger E, '3/sP<.Kp (Tigtr), J. SS-Pan(p­Grtnaditr Diuision ' Ltibstandarlt'; Kursk, summer '943

In this case the basic ochre colour scheme has been oversp rayed with areas of brown on the turret , hull front and back, leaving soft t.xlges; the hard-edged brown hatchin gs on the hull sides have, however, been appli ed with a brush. Markings arc limited to a slllall '6 13' on thc turret side, and the national cross on the hull; no fronta l markings arc visible on Ollr source photo­graph. It is unusual to see the qui ck-recognition largc swastika flown from the radio ae ri a l rather than spread over lhe rea r decking.

C2:: Tigtr F., 8/sP('Kp (Tiger), 2. SS- Panzer­erenadi,r Division' Das Reich'; Kursk, summer

'943 This vehicle provides an interes ting contrast wi th lhal shown in 1)late 81. The ochre finish has been oversprayt.xI with la rge d iagona l areas of brown. This company used turret numbers in sequence wi th the prefix 'S' for Schwere, HQ tanks being marked e.g. SOl. Also on the turret side is the Kompanie 8 'imp', who appears regularly in

The nenst:bel turret , hems ft.I.( .... nled with ... Ii s hl b.ck. ward. lilt , pre_Died no .. ucb "hot ...... p". NOie boo"" (or .. pll ..... Irlld< t ..... " on Ih" lurrl!t of thil ""hid". (RAe Tan" MUII"um)

'943 photographs of this unit (detail inset ). The original run ic d ivisional insign ia has been reo placed by th e white double-bar emblem used by ' Oas Reich' at Kursk . The national cross on the hu ll side is trimmed very narrowl y in wh ite. The crew's helmets are slung from a wire a longside the hull.

D.: Tiger E, ' lsSS-Pz Abt. 101 ; M orgny, Frana,

JUrI'1944 The vehicle has a coat of fac tory.applied Zimmtrit ove rpaintcd with yellow ochre, following which a heavy green and brown camouflage has been app lied . The veh icle number ' 131 ' appears on the lurrel side. The ins ignia of I. SS· Panzer Korps 'uihstllrlllartt' (detail inset right) appears on the fronl and rear plates in squares which have been left free of Zimmtril. Also inset are the old markings used by Heavy Tank Companies; use of these was now rare, bu t two vehicles of this unit which were knocked out at Villers-Socage ca rried them on the left end or their rront and right end of their rear plates, opposite the Corps insignia. Both had resilient steel wheels, so neither can have been thi~ particular vehicle, but there is no reason why it should not have been so marked .

37

D2: T(~(r J';, 3/sP.{Abt. 503; Normandy, July '944 Known to have been commanded by Hauptmann Walter ScherlT, this vehicle has an almost identical camouOage scheme to that illustrated in Plate 0 I, supplemented by heavy foliage for the final approach march into position. The turret number '301' indicates the company com· mander's tank, and is repeated on the rear hin, apparently in black trimmed with white, al· though we arc working from a high·contrast night photograph. This vehicle, like that in 01, has the improved cupola fitted to later versions of the :\1odcl E; note the resilient steel wheels.

EI: Tiger B (Porsche tumt) , 3/sP-tAbt. 503; ,\/ailly·/(-Camp, July /944

After being nil but wiped out during Operation 'Coodwood' 3/503 refitted with Porsche turret King Tigers at i\lailly.le·Camp. In this instance the tank's basic ochre has been almost covered with olive green with a pattern of vertical brown streaks. On most :\10dd Bs the national cross was painted centrally on the turret side, but here it appears well forward on the hull. 3/503 lost several more vehicles when attacked from the air while returning to the front, its last Tigers being destroyed ncar Amiens.

E2: Dttail oj Jhnsc/lel·turrtt Tiger R, 2/sP-tAbt. 505; Army Group Cmtre, Em/ern Front, autumn

'944 Abteilung 505 took great pride in their charging knight insignia, leaving a large rectangle clear of Zimmerit on the turret side so that it could be painted on; the device was also painted on the turrets of lhe battalion's Model Es before it was equipped with Konigstigers, sometimes in black, sometimes in brown. Another distinctive marking of 50S'S was the system of vehicle numbering using the inner and outer sleeves of the gun barrel, the company number generally being closest to the mantlet. On this particular turret large areas of the ochre finish have been sprayed with green and brown.

E3: D(tail oj l1enschel·tumt Tiger B, 2/sP;:,Abt. 503; Budap(st, tarfy '945

Once again, the ochre-painted Zimmeril has been oversprayed with areas of green and brown, but

88mtn KwK 36 Ammunition

pzGr 39 (APCBC:

I'rCr 40 (AI'CR)

II EAT

HF:

,\fU'{''{'11

I'e/oeily fl luc

2657

3000

rq68

(Percussion fuse ) 26g0

HE (Time fuse )

IVtighf, Round ( Ib,)

33-75

32 .00

3 r. 75

II'tight, Pro/tetil,

( Ib,)

20·75

16.00

16·75

20.06

r..IOSI commonly Slowed were PzGr 39, PlGr 40, HEAT and HE. (percussion fuse ), identi· fied by their respective colour·coded projcc. tiles. black with white c:tp. black, grey and yellow; additionally the PzCr 39 case was markc.'(1 '8.8cm Flak 18' and the HE (per· cussion fu~) casc 'S.Scm 398 T. liE (time fuse) was in short supply, but there is reason to believe that it was used by Tigcrs in Normandy to air·burst over the turrets of Allied tanks at cxtremc range.

At shorter ranges APCR (Armour Piercing Composite Rigid ) ammunition, relying on a high density core to achieve penetration, produced better results than APcnC (Armour Piercing Capped Ballistic Cap) because of its higher muzzle velocity. How­ever, the lighter projectile r{:sultf'cI in a sharp fall~fr in performance above 1,000 yards, whereas the APCBC projectile was capable of penetrating Somlll plate set back at 30° at 2,000 yards.

here the turret carries more conventional mark­ings, the vehicle number '233' being painted centrally and ahead of the national cross and repeated on the turret rear escape hatch. For extra protection spare track links have been suspended from hooks fore and aft.

I

£.t: TilW IJ, 3fsP~Abt. 503; J/unf!,ory, winter

'944/45 Alt hough pa in ted overa ll in \\ hiIC snow camou­flage, th is vehicle has a sma ll a rca or the gun left in its original colou r scheme '10 tha t the name 'Annclicse' is clearly visible. The vehicle number '3[4' is in white outlined in red , but is partly obscured by whitewash. T he national cross has been painted centra ll y on the turret side.

F (top) : Intm'or, TiW' E turret, showing loader's positioll find adiaetll! ammunition bi,lJ.

Sec key on p. 25.

F (bottom): Int~rior, Ti.~rr E tImet, showing gunne,'s /)0511ion as SUfi by loader.

For clarity pa rt of the brccc h has been ('ut away and the sh ield from the roof has been omitted. Sec key on p. 25.

G (top) : Intenor, Tiga F: turret, shou'in,t: (om-

W .. U_lo.nown b .. , II H-t..Jly d etailed phoCoV-ph s howin!!; • U "'DM:h,,) Ti!l;<!r B, probably of s P:lAbt.,S03. beUo8 sprayed with brown a nd 8r~n a unouOa8"' pa ... , b y iu .,.. ..... in a rear ...... durill.8 the NO ..... . lI.dy campa i«n. Thi5, and th .. " .. hid .. •• inunar:ula,e a ppearan« •• un .... tha t i, i .. a brand ne ... d .. l iv .. ry. (Bund .... archi,, )

G (bottom): Interior, TilW E, SIIOWillf{ driver's positiOlllookilll!,Jorword.

See key on p. 25.

HI: Tiger n, .5PZAbl. 506: Aachen, fate '.944 This vehicle is shown in lhe 'ambush ' colour scheml' in w hich ochre, green and brown have been applicd to resemble the sun-dappled leaf paltern of wooded country. The addition of vehicle numbers, insig nia, etc., would have bee n incompatib le with such a scheme.

fu: Turret eSUlpe IUI/ch marAin!!" company COnl­

nUlflder's T(t:er 11. 3/sPv lht. 505

mander's position as sun by loader. H3: Battalion inn,t:lllo, .!Pz. lbt. 506 Aga in the shield is omitted. See key on p. 25, and photograph elSl'whert: in this book. H.t : BattaflOn inngnia, sPzAbt. 508

39

I

\

I f , " • n

h II

I

A ' I

h tI

"

E

A k,

Z P' tu

C(

'0

of us b, do I. wi

E:

o ov

H5: Turut detail, Tiger F.; Easttrn Front, winter

1942143 Beneath the carelessly applied whitewash the name ' Dorothcc ' remains visible on the gun. The unit co uld be spzAbt. 502 but is more likely to be 503, wh ich had a long trad ition of naming ilS tanks arter girls.

H6: Battalion insignia, sP,{Ahl. 504

H7: Turrtt numbm'ng style, Tiger E, IlsP~Abt. 507, Russia

r.rbtafeln

A. , ();c norm~1o: 'f"'nu'llnu~ .'a.1x """h brnu,n lu d,oc. It'' mi' Crobt. .... t .... &hn<'tu..nun~ darubr'~lnah nu Ab,<ilunltSlticben .... a. ~In \hmmu', v"n dtln .n~n _Iaub., d_ '" nelxn de.n &h,.;hJ i .. o:kt r.h ...... n d,.,..m Panur gemah war. h I U"gtwohnhcbe pIUlt'UII~ d .. Ab'~iIIlIlK'" •• icbens u"d """ individudl." I'anzc",alll(ni. A31 I'kn«. d;"". Ei"hc", dl~ ID Af.ika .p.un all d;., d ... ,\b, J'I' tin,,,,r.n, ""' •• n of\ grun cnlncn.n

Btl Di. Tunnnu"'II"eril"rU"II r~\C IUd" d .... "".mal~n R.ih ..... IOIR' d .... fruh .. en I'ill'" t:i""." .... d •• 55 Divi.;., ..... " !leach .. Eill.dll.i, rn:b .. : drr \b.kicrullflen linD ~uf d .. hirl, ..... n RUlnl'fplai'e. 8~ , Il<ad". di< IIngt­...... IIlk .... Art <kt Iknu~u"g d .. Hohe"ok...,u ... auf <kn Tu....-i'." lind R"c~" •. B3 ' EintRe P.n .... diOK' Komp;oni. Itu,!; .... du .p<' .... ,~ d...,,-""",fige Oivi'I(ID ... id ... n, dM fll' dcn KUllk .',ld.1I1 I ... "u .. , Wllrtk, auf dtm ,,,.dfTen Rlllnp( neben dem Ma""h",.ng."""

C., IkKh,. d ... un,enchiodhd .. A .... h"'. de. T •• nung lIn ., u.m und Rumpf .in .. ,I;"pn,h,. das ......... handgtmah 0 ... f1.a~gt >.u' ,-.kennu,. dutch rlu~"\lRe ",I, ,I;<:"·,,Jmhch naeh auf dem h,"' .... n I)"':k 8<1e!I1 lind ",d" wi<' h,e •• " d., ,\",.ml( lxf .. ttg1. Ca , Di.", "'omp."i. "um.nc.i.". all. Pan ••• in. R,'he"fOl~ ml( <km V" .... lChen 'S' fut ·SC .... ' • ..,' 0., ",obok]' " ••• ,n K"ml'"nl~u,<ben

DII I)"" 7.«ch.n d .. I SS P~ ... e.ko'r- I~ln~t .. , • ..:II\» am h"ken fond. d~c vontere.n und hilll"',n RUII\l'fplatl= F.inig~ I'~,~ .. 'n'!)cn ~,,<h all d~" lI'11"nu""'h.~,id~n ~u ... d ...... PI~"~n d ... ~hmod,od .. Mh ... ~"'-Pan ...... k"m1"'n ...... lCben ' .. n~ .. 'Cl['. l,nk •• D2 ' 0,....- lind d~r ,·orht.gth.llde I'~n ... hahtn den ".nu"u.m lind Slahlr&d~. nach !km leuten Typ 0,., "I det P>n"" ,on llat'l"mann Wall • • S<hc.ff.

E" t;n,,,,,,,,hnlich.,. t('nkr'eeh. _.,tr~if'" '1 amunk""hrml de. "blkh.n d", tar"'n, unod li",e"·ohn~.be l'la..r.J.ru,,~ d.,. lIoh .... kreu..... 1::0 , I) .. R",.n.i.be" und die Plnicru"K d .... Numm"n aufd~m Gnch",d'lIIfWll..,n ~ilIC t:iB.nIICit de. Ah"ilung ~o~ u"d .l1o<h .. "." .IIf .be.d.n P~" •• n', d,m Tlgt. t: und d<:m K"nl!(Sti, •• , '9H ,,~. E.3' TYI'_ch. 1'1 •• i"unll <ks AbulC .... ns &m Tu.", <ko Kon'«lUII.", 14 1 Di. _ ... Tarnf.,1lt dcd, &11. \Ia.k;"",,,,.n, au.' d~m l\."",,, 'Ao ... h .... · a .. fde.n ~h ... ~bur..h , (oben), I"".na",;.h, des Ti~rt t: 1'1I.mn, rech .. an d ie I'.,.;,ion , .... Getrhlltzl~d<:n 1IC"',,~nd. (U .. ,,,,,, ) I;nk, in di~ Ri<'hIUl'g ~" I''';';"n dn Schlitzen .. hauend. S ..... 1';"'1 '" .",1 Sprach. auf Se,t. 2~. I.u. KIa.he" habtn ,,-i. d ... iKme Srhulzpbn •• d;"1ItIm Oach htrunter hi"" _ada .... " G (abe .. ), Il,. P(10111011 d .. KQI"mandeull, "on d .. I'",i,ion d .. GcKh",,­lade .. a ... ~ ... h.n lind ... iet1.run\ wu.de di. Schull!'I.". ,wl",h.n d,m Sltz "nd d •• c...:bu,.b.nd .. ".wl,....,n. (U.I""' ) I),.. "OII'I(HI dn hh .... S;"h. Ti,el in .ngt S.,..ach. &ufSei,. 25-

It" ' H in'''''~1t' F •• b!u .. mm ..... l.II,,"g, '''" "';t d., IOml.nd".<hfl .. ,."d." Waldbnd.cltaf' .u .. mmen,"bl.ndcn; "" .. ",I ...... i .. "'."',, k.i". Ab •• id"" darullt'gtmah. "2 II •• , Si.be Titel in .ngl. Spra<:be. d ... 1m AIIRe"",in'D Rlbo,a\14I1'nd oind

I"

H8: .t./u.{.zle brake paiuted to memble tiger's jawj sP<:Ers~u~Ausb. Abt. 500, Pad"born 1943

H9: BaUafion insignia, sP~ bt. 507 Known to have appeared on left upper rear pial of some of this unit's vehicles.

HI0: Delail oj Tiger E gun with name {lliidegard unit unknown

HII: Turret numbering s~le, Tig" F., 2/sP.;:Ai 504, Ita ly

Notes sur les plancheI' en couleur

AI ' '-" .oulcu, lIandard '~ri •• Pall'~""' e".o", u.ili ...... ,'f'(" UII (""'o"n, bl.t>(' flto. ... hl !"' ....... u. I.'ul<'lla", a,·ai. un mammo,,,h pour In"gnc .,1 p<'n", qu. celuH' .,all I,f ~m. ",. tt char pm dll kl""l .... <k v ...... 1>,10)", Out I. d.,-anl d. I. ",,_. A~' PI...:. ",hab." ... II. d. I',nsi~n.

I'ob"ol"",f ... ""m mdi"ldu~1 du c ..... A31 Lei cha .. d~ oe\l~ unM • ... ,,'1'0 Afriq .... "prl:s ccu~ d<: A~I jOl, ~,.""" "''''~n' pem ... n ,'ert B. , I ... nu ..... ro ... K< de II tou""n.· n •• u"."" JI'U I'ordre ""rmal da .. 1eo">1 p"""~n'. ""'lk d .. 1'i,en <in d,vl..., .. So". No,e.l. M.all de ma.qucolII 1I.1I(1t~ d~ I~ 1'lk~lI~ .trlh .. M la Call"'. !h l '10'(' I'ul"".';"" ",,,,hte d. crl)l~ n.'i<>na~ 'UI "'" oolfo(I 'U' I'a .. iohe d. I. ' .. u..,l~ 8" SlI' ~ drvan la cai_.lI crill dr II mi, • .,,,lIeu,,,, oert.ins chan de ce"ewmpagnlt po". l'i""I~'" .pleial de la di"ilion, romP""" de .,.,,;. rita, employ.' Ion d. r.mp~g". d. K"unk C • • r.Olez Ie diffl..,n, .ff~, du .a" ... "ftag<' .u. b "",,,lie, el lu' I. c.ioo u .... partie 1""I1~ au p; .... Io:t.. e' I'.u'"' it la main I.., d .. ~.u ........ , l'id~n"fica'l(In par rav;.I"'" ... I ..... i, h.b"u.llcm .... ' it pl., .li. Ie r arr;~ •• , plu,o, qu·altach~ it 1'1"'."'" C<Jm"", dao. «I .~ .. mpk ell C (O'''I',agn;'' rlumirotli, rh'l"c cha. d ... l'Ot1lrr "".rmll, .vee It I' .... fix, po", St/uL", •. I", 'Iu'in' IIa" l'iDOJI\ .... de la wmpo.gn,..

D. , I.'im,!!". d" Ic. Corp- SS Pa" ... (.n ca"OII.he, it d .... I.: 'ur la ,a, d,. pla'!u,," av,,,, .1 amh. de la ra ..... . A I'u' .... mi'i droll. d. en pl., C~.tam. <hall po. talcnl ou,,; Ie ',,"UK 'ymbol. d. la con'I'"II"1< d.,. c Iou.d. 'cn canou.:h •• it It.llch.· DlII Ctlu,"'".~, Ie char p .... ki.,,', or coupolo: d'un 'Y~ plUI ,"".n.," I .. rou .... n .c ..... compte" Vooci Ie elta Cal'''.m~ "ott" Scherff E" U, ... racoo ~" ""'i'<' d'util,,,,, la ,roil coule" .. hahi,,,dl.,. danl ~.n'IOtlH"J<.n bandn w-rtlC&let;rt pooinon Inhalo"udl.d~ la croo. nallOl E2 ' L·ins'K .... du ch .... ah .... e' I'i""';p,ion de numb .... u, Ie catIOn. tu pa"iCIII",n A I'Abl<1l • .., j()5, ..... >'OyalCR' lIor Ie TI,.~r [, •• ,"r Ie K6, tiK<' "143 H· F,3' Oo1lc poIi'lOrI de I'i",illn. ""' 'YP'q'" ,"r b 'o"",n. Koolg>Iigc. E.r" La ~in'u'" blanche du camouHag<' co",'"" ",,,Ie marq .... """flo: nom ·A-I,O>I· .u. It. u""n

F ( ...... ), In 'tn~llt d. II "'u""l~ dil l ,S". t:. vue ""I. droi'e v~llla pOI d u rh,.eu •. (Bu) V,,, 0 ... 1. gauche vCI'I la poo,uQn d" li""u •. VOlt .... , ,it"", .n~b .. 1"'K~ 25. 1'"". plu. d. dartl, tI<IU. a ...... Om" Ie boucher ~ q"i p<'ndai, du l<>i,

G ( .... "I). La I"""io". d" chof dt <har, '"' de I. pOIi,ton du ch~'1Itu, f<>ill de plu.,.1< bouchrr ."' .... Ie .i~ge e' ... (Ill.",. ~ f'f 0111.,. (llu poomon du 1',1", •. Voir In ...... ·11 ...... n,l;oill"~. 2".

HI , La gam",c d ... '0" ' l:mbuKadc', 1""" b .. n .. mtl •• ",.co: I ... 'on bo" truoklllk; norm.I."",n •• "CII" im'gDe n'ttai, pcin, .ur Ct can'lOtll H2 111" V"ir I.,. fOuH""'" ""gl .... 'lui. en ~fni.al, ... p .... n' d'c.pl..;a,

OSPREY ·VANGUARD

A series of books describing key units and wcapons systems of 20th cen tury warfare, p repared b y leading military experts for the en thusiast and mod eller, and illustrating au th emic deta ils of a rmour and supporting vehic:les, camouflage, markings, un iforms, insignia and ,,'capons.

Avec a nDotat io n li e n (ran~a i ll liu.r leli pl.neh ell en coul",ur

Mil AufzekhnunS"'D a uf d e uuc:h u ber die Fa rblaf",ln

I . Britis h 7th Armoured Divis ion ~. Panzer-G r enadier Divis io n 'Grossdeutsc hland' 3. US 1 S t Infantry Divis ion 4. Fallschirmpa nze rdiv is io n ' H ermann Goring' 5. US 10I s t Airborne Division 6. The Lee /Gra nt T anks in British Service 7. 2nd SS P a nze r Divis io n ' Das Reic h ' 8. US I s t M a r in e Divis ion

9. Britis h G u a rds Armoured Divis ion 10. AlJjed T a nk Destroyer s II. US 2nd Armored Divis ion 12. Sturma rtille rie and P anze rjage r 13. The ChurchiJI Tank

.4. The T-:w T a nk 15. The Sherman T a nk in Britis h Se rvice 16. The Panze rkampfwa ge n III

17· The Stuart Light Tank Series 18. The Panzerkampfwagen IV 19· Armour of the Middle East Wars 1948-,8 2 0 . The Tige r Tanks

BR YJ\:\ PER RI :T r \\:\s born ill [93-1 a nd educated at Livcrpool College . Il l' scncd in the Roya l Armourcd Corps, in th e J 7th/ 21 st I.anccrs, Westminstcr Dragoo ns, Imd Royal Tank Regiment, and was awarded the ' I erritoria l Deeoration . l ie is now a professional author, and has published numerous book~ al1(l a nic/cs on all aspcClS ofarmour("d wa rfa re from the Firs t World Wa r to th e present da ). Ik yan I)crrct! is married , a nd lives in Lancashire.

I S Il ~ 0 115045 389 5

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